ÁP DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP dạy học dựa TRÊN TUYỂN tập bài làm vào dạy văn học mỹ tại TRƯỜNG đại học NGOẠI NGỮ NHẰM TĂNG KHẢ NĂNG tự BIỂU đạt BẰNG TIẾNG ANH CHO SINH VIÊN một NGHIÊN cứu ỨNG DỤNG

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCT ION OF THE BACKGROUN DS TO THE STUDY
1.1. Rationale for the study
The idea of conducting this study stemmed first and foremost from my own teaching
situation. It is a common irony among English and American Literature teachers at the
English Department, College of Foreign Languages, that when we mark our students’ final
exam writings, we are actually marking distorted versions of our own ideas and words,
which have been expressed in class only as suggestions and prompts for students’
discussion and self-learning. The truth is the majority of our students seldom have their
own ideas about literary works. In case some do have their own comments and feelings,
they are often at a loss to express themselves. Thus, literature learning has frequ ently fallen
into either parrot fashion or a tangled web of poorly expressed ideas. While we agree that
parrot fashion learning must be done away with, we must also face the challenge of finding
ways to raise students’ self -expression abilities, if the pre sent dilemma is to be solved to its
root.
Looking beyond my own situation, I realized that this dilemma also brings headaches
to teachers of English in general. Hence, in the picture I am trying to paint hereafter of my
own teaching experience, many other teachers may see fragments of their own classrooms,
their own problems and pains. As a teacher of English and American literatures in a
context where students learn English as their major, I have had a growing concern about
students’ generally weak abilit y of self-expression in spoken and written English, which is
reflected most clearly in their learning of foreign literatures. This problem is closely related
to students’ passive role in learning. For English and American literatures, students usually
come to class without any preparation for the lesson; during class time they just sit
passively, sometimes listening to the teacher lecturing and sometimes not paying very
much attention. When the teacher asks students to answer a question concerning the
literary text, they often make very little meaningful contribution because they have not
done any thinking about the text at home. With this lack of preparation and practice, they
rarely think or feel about literary matters in a critical, original way, or in ca se they do have
their own thinking and feeling, they are unprepared and unable to express themselves
coherently in English. As a result, what they have gained from foreign literatures is little

more than some mechanical memory of some famous authors and te xts. However, this is
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not the goal of teaching English and American literatures. Rather, the goal is to help
students gain an understanding of and appreciation for great literatures in English, to give
students a chance to voice their own opinions, thought s and feelings about great literatures,
and through literatures, about life, culture and society, and not the least to learn the target
language to express all those understanding, appreciation, thoughts and feelings efficiently.
Thus, critical thinking an d open expression are vital in learning this subject. The problem
is these are very weak among the majority of the students, which has been reported by
almost all the teachers at the English Department.
The portfolio approach can be a solution to this pro blem. While it can benefit many
other subjects, the portfolio approach would create the best chances for students’ self -
expression in both written and spoken English when it is applied to English and American
Literatures. In no other subjects would there b e a greater need and a wider scope for the
fresh expression of personal responses, individual identities in the form of thoughts and
feelings on a more sophisticated level than in English and American Literatures. By
working on a regular basis on their own portfolio projects, students are given every chance
to exercise greater initiative and autonomy in responding to great literatures and expressing
their feelings and opinions for themselves. Arguably some of the most interesting aspects
of the portfolio approach to the teaching of English and American literatures concern not
only literary matters but also matters of interest to any learner of English as a foreign
language: the matter of how to utilize the language efficiently, the matter of naturally
thinking, feeling in the language, and actually living the language out, and the matter of
how to express oneself coherently and convincingly in the target language, both in the
written and spoken form.
First of all, besides its undeniable mind -broadening benef its, learning a foreign
literature by doing portfolios in the target language helps students activate and utilize their
linguistic reservoir, which might otherwise dry out as a result of blunt, functional
conversations and somewhat mechanical, matter -of-fact expository writings that they often
have to do. Nowhere else is language so beautifully and meaningfully used as in literature,

and when students write about literature in the target language, they tend to try their best to
inspire beauty of form and ri chness of meaning to their writings. Thus, writings in the
literature portfolio can be the convergence of students’ best efforts at language use.
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Secondly, doing the portfolio project gives students a sense of being involved in the
target language, while in the way of “spectator learning”, students normally feel detached
from the language all the time it is spoon -fed to them. With their own portfolio, they come
very close to thinking in the language, feeling in the language on a much more
sophisticated level than they usually do in English. Gradually students would have a feel
for the language which would be impossible to achieve for all the teaching in the world. In
other words, doing the portfolio project would give students a chance to actually live the
language.
Above all, doing the literature portfolio is a chance for students to express
themselves convincingly with their own identity. No longer valid is the view of language
as only a dry, functional tool of knowledge and information perception. Langua ge is
learned to empower the learner to do more than just take in knowledge: the most wonderful
mastery of a language is in self -expression. Working on the literature portfolios, students
must do a lot of literary reading, which provides a rich, authentic, high quality input of
language, but more importantly, they need to express their thoughts and feelings about
sophisticated literary matters in the target language, which would train them to express
themselves confidently and effectively in English for the ir futures.
All the explanations above boil down to only one word: self -expression. Students’
ability to utilize the language, their intellectual and emotional experiences in the language
will all be shown in their spoken and written expression, which is after all the expression
of themselves. The literature portfolio is worth trying out precisely because it would train
students’ ability of self -expression in the target language.
1.2. Purpose and significance of the study
The study is carried out with a view to investigating the effects of the portfolio
approach on students’ ability of self -expression in English and American literatures.
Hopefully, by making the literature portfolio part of the course requirements, teachers

could help students play greater rol es in their own learning, activate and practice their
analytical power, critical thinking, deep feeling, as well as fresh ways of expressing
themselves about great literatures. Furthermore, it is also hoped that students’ writing skills
and self-expressing abilities in English would be greatly improved as a result of practicing
on a regular basis. These skills and abilities would benefit not only the learning of English
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and American literatures but also the learning of all other language skills and language
elements. Equally significant is students’ expected satisfactory performance in formal tests
of English and American literatures, resulting in significantly better scores than those of
students who have similar starting points in this subject but who are not exposed to the
portfolio approach. Thus, this study serves both long -term and practical purposes.
1.3. Aim and scope of the study
The aim of this study is to find out the relationship between doing the literature
portfolio project and students’ self -expression abilities as demonstrated in the process of
learning and in their final scores on this subject. The study also aims to explore students’
experiences and practices on the project. It expected to find a positive and significant
impact of this approach on students’ self -expression in English, as well as to find the
project to be a worthwhile practice for students.
As regards the scope of the study, due to limited time, it was not possible for me to
carry out the investigation for both English and Ameri can literatures, which would take
two semesters. Therefore, I only chose to investigate the application of the portfolio
approach to the teaching of American literature, after students had finished one semester of
English literature. The reason why I chose American literature and not English literature to
carry out my research was that by the time they finished English literature, I could have a
fairly clear view of students’ literary self -expression abilities based on my observations
and students’ scores o n the English literature exam. This would help me conduct my
research better. Furthermore, once they had learned literature for a semester, students
would definitely be more acquainted with this subject, which would presumably help them
do their literature projects with more ease.
1.4. Structure of the paper

Apart from the introduction and conclusion, this paper contains three main chapters:
- Chapter 2: Review of Literature, including a review on portfolio assessment and self -
expression.
- Chapter 3: Design of the American Literature Portfolio Project
- Chapter 4: The study, including the context of the study, research questions and
hypothesis, data collection, data and data analysis, and findings.
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CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1. Portfolio assess ment
The concept of portfolio has been around for a long time and has been the subject of
accumulating studies. Different educators and researchers have provided different views on
this concept, but they have found many important common grounds. Many an as pect of
portfolio assessment has been explored, and this section carries no ambition to go deeply
into each and every aspect. The following sections will only briefly present the literature
on the definitions and concept of portfolio assessment, its charac teristics, its advantages
and disadvantages, its use, phases of portfolio development, and portfolio evaluation.
2.1.1. Definitions and concept
A portfolio is “a purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the student’s
efforts, progress, and achi evements in one or more areas. The collection must include
student participation in selecting the contents, the criteria for selection, the criteria for
judging merit, and evidence of student self reflection.” (Paulson, Paulson and Meyer, 1991,
60)
A portfolio is also defined as “a collection of artifacts accompanied by a reflective
narrative that not only helps the learner to understand and extend learning, but invites the
reader of the portfolio to gain insight about learning and the learner” (Porter and Cleland,
1995, 154)
In literature, “the portfolio is a collection of revised and expanded essays that best
demonstrate [one’s] mastery of selected goals of the literature major. The portfolio
contains concrete evidence of [one’s] abilities as a student of literature. Furthermore, the
portfolio allows [one] to revisit ideas and writings [one] began in earlier coursework, and

pursue those ideas and writings through additional research, further development, and/or
clarification of focus.” (Neiman, 1999)
But basically, not matter which definition you choose, it comes down to these words:
collect, select, and reflect. Generally speaking, a portfolio is a collection of works selected
by the student, with some form of reflection on the process and/or the products.
Most portfolios fall into the following categories: (1) showcase or selection and (2)
developmental or process. A showcase or selection portfolio is a collection chosen by the
student and/or teacher which shows the student’s best work with a specific goal in mind
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(Johnson 1996, 30). For example, in writing, it may include the best pieces of a variety of
writing styles including both expository and creative writing. A developmental or process
portfolio is a collection of work, which focuses on the student’s development of a process
or a product. The type of portfolio chosen, whether it is showcase or developmental, is
dependent upon the purpose, which in turn determines the types of items selected from the
collection for the portfolio. In my American Literatu re course, the design of the portfolio is
a combination of both the showcase and the developmental portfolio: the students selected
their best assignment papers to put in the portfolio, but they also had to include all their
class notes and the first draft together with the second draft of the essay, which were used
to assess their learning process and development.
2.1.2. Characteristics of portfolio assessment
Portfolio assessment is a multi -faceted process characterized by the following
recurrent qualities:
- It is continuous and ongoing, providing both formative (i.e. ongoing) and summative (i.e.
culminating) opportunities for monitoring students’ progress toward achieving essential
outcomes.
- It is multidimensional, i.e., reflecting a wide variety of a rtifacts and processes reflecting
various aspects of students’ learning process(es).
- It provides for collaborative reflection, including ways for students to reflect about their
own thinking processes and meta -cognitive introspection as they monitor thei r own
comprehension, reflect upon their approaches to problem -solving and decision-making,

and observe their emerging understanding of subjects and skills.
(George 1995)
2.1.3. Pros and cons of portfolio assessment
According to Andrew Epstein, Synapse Lear ning Designer of website
www.teachervision.fen.com , some important pros and cons of portfolio assessment are as
follows.
Pros:
- It allows the teacher to see the student as an individual, each with his or h er own unique
set of characteristics, needs, and strengths.
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- It transforms the role of the teacher away from generating comparative rankings of
achievement (grades, percentage rankings, test scores) and toward improving student
achievement through evaluat ive feedback and self-reflection.
- It helps teachers standardize and evaluate the skills and knowledge we expect students to
acquire without limiting creativity in the classroom.
- It helps students be more accountable for the work they do in class and th e skills and
knowledge we are asking them to acquire.
- It aids in the diversification of approaches to teaching and learning, thus increasing the
connections with a wider range of learners and learning styles.
- It involves students in the assessment pro cess, thus giving them a more meaningful role
in improving achievement.
- It invites students to reflect upon their growth and performance as learners.
Cons:
- It may be seen by some as less reliable or fair than more quantitative or standardized tests
evaluation such as test scores.
- It can be time consuming for teachers and staff, especially if portfolios are done in
addition to traditional testing and grading.
- Teachers must develop their own individualized criteria, which can be initially difficult or
unfamiliar.
- Data from portfolio assessments can be difficult to analyze or aggregate, particularly over

long periods of time.
- It is often difficult to integrate meaningfully into school cultures where very high stakes
are placed on comparative student ranking and standardized tests.
Interestingly enough, the disadvantages tend to be teacher -centered and the
advantages tend to be student -centered. In reality, however, the biggest disadvantage of
portfolio assessment for some teachers is that it is somet hing new and different which
demands study. The biggest advantage of portfolio assessment for teachers is the
knowledge they gain about their teaching and about their students. Looking at students’
portfolios in my American literature class, I could adjust my instruction based on the data
collected from these portfolios. But, the best part was the insights I gained about my
students and my teaching. I had evidence to support that learning was happening in my
classroom.
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2.1.4. Use and standardization of por tfolio assessment
The use of portfolio assessment focuses around the philosophy of the classroom
teacher. Portfolio assessment at its best involves teachers and learners gathering and
analyzing data and reflecting upon the impact of that data as it relates to those learners and
teachers (Stowall and Tierney 1995, 82). This type of assessment demand that the teacher
and learner act as collaborators and implies a learner -centered philosophy of education.
Like so many other educational reforms, the teacher is the key to the successful use of
portfolio assessment. If teachers believe that portfolio assessment is important and useful,
and if they are inserviced adequately for its expanded use, portfolio assessment has a
chance to succeed (Abruscato 1993, 477).
Although portfolio assessment offers great flexibility and a holistic picture of
students’ development, several technical issues must be addressed to make portfolios valid
for ESL education evaluations. These issues are summarized in three organizational
guidelines which are based on current research and instructional practices in education.
Portfolios Must Have a Clear Purpose
To be useful, information gathered for portfolios must reflect the priorities of the
program. It must be kept in mind that the purpos e of an education program evaluation

stems from the goal of the actual program. The first critical step, then, is to identify and
prioritize the key program goals of curriculum and instruction. As mentioned in chapter 1,
the key goals of the Literature pro gram are for students to gain an understanding of and
appreciation for great literary works and to express their evaluations, comments and
feelings for those works and authors in the target language. Thus, the clear purpose of the
students’ American Litera ture portfolios is to show their processes of response to literature,
as well as their abilities of self -expression in English.
Portfolios Must Interact With the Curriculum
This issue also is known as content validity. It is important that the information in
portfolios accurately and authentically represent the content and instruction of the program.
Content validity can be maximized by making sure portfolios contain (a) a clear purpose of
the assessment, (b) a close link between the behaviors or products collected and the
evaluation goals, (c) a wide variety of classroom exercises or tasks measuring the same
skill, and (d) a cross -check of student capabilities based on both formal tests and informal
assessment. (Navarete et al 1990)
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Apart from having a cle ar purpose of assessment as aforementioned, the American
Literature Portfolio Project under study also has a close link between the works collected
and the evaluation goals: all the students’ works were to show their self -expression
abilities, which was al so the key evaluation goal. The class activities and tasks of
discussion, response writing, and reports of written essays all measured students’
expression of themselves on literary subjects in the target language. Moreover, formal pre -
and post-tests were designed to check and supplement the rather informal portfolio
process. With these fulfillments, my portfolio project can be said to interact with the
curriculum to a great extent.
Portfolios Must Be Assessed Reliably
Reliability in portfolios may be defi ned as the level of consistency or stability of the
devices used to assess student progress. Although there are no set guidelines, there are
several criteria which are recommended in establishing the reliability of portfolios for
large-scale assessment. Te achers and administrators must, at a minimum, be able to

- design clear scoring criteria in order to maximize the raters’ understanding of the
categories to be evaluated;
- maintain objectivity in assessing student work by periodically checking the consis tency
of ratings given to students’ work in the same area;
- ensure inter-rater reliability when more than one person is involved in the scoring
process;
- make reliable and systematic observations, plan clear observation guidelines;
- use objective termin ology when describing student behavior;
- allow time to test the observation instrument and its ability to pick up the information
desired;
- check for inter-rater reliability as appropriate;
- keep consistent and continuous records of the students to meas ure their development and
learning outcomes; and
- check judgments using multiple measures such as other tests and information sources.
In the American Literature Portfolio Project under study, some actions which
correspond with those suggested criteria we re taken to ensure a relatively reliable
assessment: right from the planning stage I had drawn up a clear set of scoring criteria for
each component of the portfolio, as specified in the marking sheet (see appendix 1); I also
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frequently and objectively com pared the students’ ratings in each component, making quite
sure the ratings were fair; moreover, systematic observation plans were designed and used
to record students’ progress; the students’ work was also continuously evaluated (through
weekly grading and reviewing of their writings); and finally, the portfolio constituted only
part of the whole-course assessment, its rather informal judgment complementing the
formality of the end-of-term exam. These are the ways in which the portfolio assessment of
my project was made more reliable.
A major issue that arises in the use of portfolios relates to the problem of
summarizing data within and across classrooms in a consistent and reliable manner. Using
the guidelines suggested above in the planning and organiz ation of portfolios will provide
for reliable and valid assessment. These guidelines, however, are only a framework for the

assessment procedures and will need to be applied by teachers to determine their
effectiveness and practicality. (Navarete et al 199 0)
2.1.5. Phases of portfolio development
IRI/Skylight Publications on www.ed.gov/pubs/OR/consumerGuides/classure.html
mention three phases of portfolio development.
Phase One:
Organizing and planning: This initial phase of portfolio development entails decision -
making on the part of students and teachers. This phase helps students fully understand the
purpose of the portfolio and its status as a means of monitoring and evaluating their own
progress.
In the American Literature course, this phase was conducted within one week. My
students and I worked together discussing the purpose of the project, the things that they
would have to do, and the judging criteria for their work. I handed o ut to them the
guidelines for doing the project and the marking sheet, and we spent one lesson discussing
these together. If the students had any contribution or objection to make to the judging
criteria, their views would be considered by the whole class and a decision would be made
whether to accept the proposals or not, as well as how to adapt the criteria to suit the
majority of the students. During this phase, moreover, I made sure that each and every
project student understood clearly what they would have to do and the goals that they
would need to reach. (See appendix 5 for the guidelines).
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Phase Two:
Collection: This process involves the collection and selection of meaningful artifacts and
products reflecting students’ educational experiences and go als. Decisions must be made at
this phase about the context and contents of the portfolio based upon the intent and
purposes identified for it. All selections included in the collection should clearly reflect the
criteria and standards identified for evalu ation.
The purposes of the ALP Project under study were for the students to interact with at
least five authors, to have an appreciation for literature, and to reveal their inner worlds of
thoughts and feelings with regard to literary works. Also, I wanted my students to realize

how reading and studying literature can unlock their ideas and thoughts about themselves
and the world. The selection of the students’ writings must be based on these purposes.
In my course, phase two was conducted during 12 weeks, in which the students
collected and selected their writings under the teacher’s guidance and suggestions. They
needed to collect their class notes, graded assignment papers, graded presentation outlines,
peer reviews, drafts and essays on particular liter ary works and themes that had been
selected by themselves and/or by the teacher. This collection must reflect fulfillment of
given judging criteria.
Phase Three:
Reflection: Wherever possible, there should be evidence of students’ metacognitive
reflections upon the learning process and their monitoring of their evolving comprehension
of key knowledge and skills. In addition, teacher and/or parent reflections upon the
products, processes, and thinking articulated in the portfolio should also be included
wherever possible. It is the reflective stage that pulls it all together at the end for the
learner and makes the selection of work more than just a collection. A collection of student
work, even when it is planned, does not make a portfolio (Johnson 1996, 30 ). It is this third
principle that transforms a collection into a meaningful learning experience. It is during
this reflective process, that the responsibility for learning shifts from the teacher to the
student (Porter and Cleland 1995, 39).
At the end of the American Literature course, after the collection phase, the students
were required to write an honest reflection upon the portfolio process, the weaknesses and
strengths of their own portfolios, and what they thought they had learned and achieved
through the project. Reflection also took place during peer review sessions, where the
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students commented on each other’s work. Besides, reflection also took the form of the
teacher’s continuous reflection upon the students’ progresses, achievements, and
limitations through the ongoing evaluation process.
2.1.6. Portfolio evaluation
According to Porter and Cleland (1995, 124), portfolios can be used to support or
even determine a grade when a well defined scoring guide or rubric is developed by both

the teacher and the learner. In order for thoughtful evaluation to take place, teachers must
have multiple scoring strategies to evaluate students’ progress.
It is especially important for teachers and students to work together to prioritize those
criteria that will be used as a basis for assessing and evaluating student progress, both
formatively (throughout an instructional time period) and summatively (i.e. as part of a
culminating project, activity, or related assessment to determine the extent to which
identified curricular expectancies, indicators, and standards have been achieved).
As the school year progresses, students and teacher can work together to identify
especially significant or important artifacts and processes to be captured in the portfolio.
Additionally, they can work collaboratively to determine grades or scores to be assigned.
Rubrics, rules, and scoring keys can be designed for a variety of portfolio components. In
addition, letter grades might also be assigned, where appropriate.
The portfolio scores in the American Literature course were used as the students’
midterm scores, accounting for 40% of their final whole -course scores. The rubrics (see
appendix 1: marking sheet) were thoroughly discussed with the students, and their opinions
were considered in developing the judging criteria and adjusting the proportions of marks
between the different tasks of the portfolio. Ongoing evaluation was also done on a weekly
basis: I collected the students’ assignments almost every week and gave my judgment s and
a grade on their assignment papers before returning them to the students the following
week. I also gave my comments and grades to the students’ presentations in class. Besides,
the students’ essays were first evaluated by their peers, which was repo rted in the peer
reviews. The final portfolio score was determined by the teacher basing on the criteria
clarified in the rubrics, the ongoing evaluation, and the summative judgments of the
students about their own work. Thus, the portfolio evaluation was made as objective and
all-sided as possible. The students were able to see the relationship between their work,
their portfolio, and the grades and scores they earned. This scoring system was not a
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perfect system, but at least the score was supported with ample judgments, observations,
and evidence from the portfolio.
2.1.7. Literature portfolio

The literature portfolio has been researched and applied in the language and literature
departments of a number of colleges and universities such as West Chester Un iversity of
Pennsylvania, University of Puget Sound, Washington, University of Wisconsin Press,
Loras College, Iowa, etc. Their websites have detailed descriptions of their application of
the literature portfolio. Neiman (1999) presented a detailed descrip tion of her literature
portfolio implementation, including the design, the process, the course outcome, the
grading and scoring standards. Although those ways of applying the literature portfolio
sound very inviting, I decided to apply it my own way to sui t my students’ needs and
abilities.
2.2. Self-expression
“If I could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint. ”
- Edward Hopper -
As human beings, we all experience the feeling of being at a loss to express
ourselves at some points in our lives, and self-expression is one of the most basic matters
of humanity. While the concept of self -expression is not new, it has not been adequately
presented in the literature. Even researchers seem to take this concept for granted, and
perhaps that is why alth ough numerous studies have been based upon the notion of self -
expression, this notion itself has not been sufficiently explored. Of the little information I
have been able to collect, I shall hereafter review on the concepts of self -expression in
general and in language learning, the ways to encourage self -expression, as well as its
relationships with writing and literature.
2.2.1. General definitions of self -expression
According to the prestigious online encyclopedia www.answers.com, self-expression
is the “expression of one’s own personality, feelings, or ideas, as through speech or art.”
Pearl S. Buck is quoted on this website saying: “Self -expression must pass into
communication for its fulfillment.”
Another definition, provided by www.thefreedictionary.com , views self-expression
as the expression of one’s individuality, usually through creative activities.
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In another way of wording, “self -expression is about being able to say what you

mean or want to say. It is about expressing yourself in words, music, painting, or any
activity that allows your inner expression to come out (…) Some people find it easier to
write a poem than to verbalize exactly how they feel. Other s express themselves through
an activity such as painting or building a house. Still others need an audience to preach to.”
(www.analyticalq.com ) The author of this source also sees true self -expression as being
able to articulate what is original within ourselves, not as summarizing or repeating what
has been said before.
In these definitions, we encounter words and phrases such as “one’s own
personality”, “feelings”, “ideas”, “individuality”, expressing yourself ”, “allows your inner
expression to come out”. All these words and phrases point to the nature of self -expression
as attached to the individual’s inner world of thoughts and feelings. Thus, self -expression
can be understood as the expression or exposure of one’s intellectual and emotional
identity. Anything said or done detached from the self cannot be considered self -
expression. In the realm of language, for example, the functional use of words and
structures to get things done is usually not seen as the e xposure of oneself, for one does not
often show much of his/her individual qualities in performing speech acts. On the other
hand, the use of language to give an argument or comment, for instance, typically creates
an occasion for the self – that is, opinions and feelings – to be expressed. It can, of course,
be argued that when one uses language to get things done, one also shows a personal need,
but this need is often only superficial and situational, and bears no insight into the depth of
the person’s mind. Hence, the term “self -expression” only applies where there is strong
evidence of an individual’s deep -lying pattern of thinking, feeling, and responding that
defines that individual as distinctly himself or herself and not another.
To define a person distinctly as himself or herself, true self -expression must flow
from what is original within that person. It cannot be emphasized enough that thoughtlessly
copying or repeating others’ ideas and language is never the expression of oneself. In other
words, self-expression must be the expression “of oneself, by oneself, and for oneself.”
Self-expression is, however, more than a notion – it must “pass into communication
for its fulfillment” (Pearl S. Buck). The word “expression” demands that a person’s inner
world be revealed in some form of communication.

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2.2.2. Concept of self -expression in language learning
The humanistic approach to language teaching captures language as a means for self -
expression. In this view, language learners are, after all, individua ls, and their learning
goals are defined by what they wish to express.
As a teacher trainer and psychodramatist, Bernard Dufeu (1994, p.212) recognizes
four functions of language – symbolic, expressive, communicative and structuring. Thus,
self-expression can be regarded as a function of language. This author also maintains that
an approach to the whole person should consider five types of involvement – physical,
affective, intellectual, social, and spiritual. In other words, learning a foreign language is
not an intellectual process alone, but an emotional and spiritual one as well, requiring of us
new ways of perceiving the world, ourselves and others. From this, we can see that self -
expression is a natural, multidimensional part of language learning. Duf eu also puts
forward his own concept that the language of a true self -expression “is the language of the
inner being and its relationship to the outside world, the language of sensations, feelings,
emotions, the expression of needs and desires, observation s, intentions, inter -personal
relations, etc. – a relational language.”
Obviously, to learn a language does not simply mean to take in its vocabulary and
grammar – it also means to be able to express oneself competently in that language.
Whether one’s self-expression in a foreign language is poor or good depends on one’s
ability to use the language for that purpose.
2.2.3. How to encourage self -expression in a foreign language
Savignon (2002) suggests that learners’ self -expression can be encouraged by
promoting personal language use, as contrasted with “language arts”. “Personal language
use implies, above all, respect for learners as they use English for self -expression.
Although language arts activities [focusing on forms of English, including syntax,
morphology and phonology] provide an appropriate context for attention to formal
accuracy, personal English language use does not. Most teachers know this and intuitively
focus on meaning rather than form as learners express their personal feelings or
experiences.” (p.5) The implication here is that although accuracy activities are necessary,

teachers should focus on meaning rather than form whenever appropriate in order to give
students enough linguistic freedom to venture self -expression in the target langua ge.
16
Savignon (2002) furthers her point by calling for teachers to show respect for their
students’ personal language use. “Respect for learners as they use English for self -
expression requires more than simply restraint when they make formal errors that do not
interfere with meaning. Respect requires recognition that so -called “native-like”
performance may not, in fact, even be a goal for learners.” (p.5) Thus, teachers should be
prepared to accept linguistic errors and a non -native-like use of the language , so long as
they do not prevent the students’ successful expression of themselves.
Moreover, to boost self -expression, “learners should not only be given the
opportunity to say what they want to say in English, they should be encouraged to develop
an English language personality with which they are comfortable.” (p.5) While this is
challenging, it can be exhilarating at the same time, as learners may discover a new
freedom of self-expression in their new language. Speaking, writing, and responding to the
world in a new language can be compared to “putting on a new dress”. Expressing
themselves in English, hence, can make students feel fresh, see themselves in a new way,
and can offer them freedom to experiment.
2.2.4. Self-expression and writing
The humanistic approach to language teaching views writing as an effective means
of self-discovery and self-expression. Oliver (1982, mentioned in Allen 1987) claims:
“writing (…) is a tool for discovering one’s thoughts and feelings, as a unique mode of
learning.” (p.3) Allen (1987), on the topic of writing to learn in English, discusses the close
connection between writing and self -expression: “writing provides students the opportunity
for self-expression, enabling them to react on both cognitive and affective level s to the
ideas, information, and emotions they encounter. The value of writing to learn in English
extends beyond gaining knowledge and skills of the subject to acquiring understanding of
oneself and one’s relation to the world, clearly a desired outcome o f English.” (p.12)
Writing is also seen as a tool to develop self -expression. Allen (1987) wrote: “As for
the development of critical response and creative endeavor, writing is essential for growth.

Although English teachers have implicitly been aware of t he functions of writing, they may
not always have employed writing to its potential.” (p.3) It can be inferred that a fulfilling
employment of writing would be in the practice and development of self -expression. And
in this respect, the writing requirement s of the American Literature Portfolio Project fit the
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picture perfectly: the students’ writing process is guided in such a way as to serve exactly
the goal of developing their self -expression ability in English.
2.2.5. Self-expression and literature
A cognitive – affective approach to teaching English as a foreign language sees
language in the service of self -expression; language as the interface between cultures;
language as a tool for naming the world and interacting with it; language not only for
getting things done in the utilitarian sense but also for expressing ideas and feelings. It is in
light of this approach that literature has a reason to survive in the ELT world. There has
been ample research evidence that points to the role of literature in the development of
self-expression ability. Particularly, Prodromou (2000) maintains that while the language
of literature may be impracticable in real life, it opens the learner’s mind to a whole new
world of fresh, brilliant, inspiring expressions of the Se lf, sharpening the learner’s
awareness of how language can be manipulated to reveal exactly the individual identity
they want to reveal. Inspired and enriched by literature, learners would inevitably seek new
ways to express themselves more freshly and con vincingly in the target language. In her
own words, with the specific mention of Shakespeare and his works as representative for
English literature in general, Prodromou writes: “Clearly, the language of The Tempest is
useless, functionally speaking, but i t has the power to sensititize any learner of English to
how language works to express the Self and this is something engineers and business
people also have and may wish to express as they go about the world building bridges and
signing contracts. (…) we can see the usefulness of Shakespeare from two perspectives:
from the point of view of the learner and from that of the teacher. For learners who have
reached a level capable of coping with the linguistic difficulties of the text, Shakespeare
can bring them into contact with language that expresses a wide range of human emotions
in its most powerful and memorable form.” This author goes on to suggest that although

learners are unable and unlikely to use sentences and speeches from literary works in real -
life situations, the content and beauty of literature may motivate them to engage with the
foreign language in ways which an outdated newspaper article or a mundane dialogue in a
textbook may fail to. Literary texts capture language in natural and memorable c ontexts,
and even if the language in the case of Shakespeare is not bang up -to-date, it can serve as a
catalyst for a wide range of linguistic skills: language awareness, discussion, and self -
expression.
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Regarding the usefulness of Shakespeare, or of liter ature, for the teacher, Prodromou
writes: “Shakespeare’s plays provide the most powerful example of effective
communication in the English language. Insofar as language teachers are in the business of
communication, Shakespeare would be worthy of study.”
All in all, both writing and learning literature are effective ways to practice and
develop self-expression ability. The ALP Project utilized these two means with students’
progress in self-expression as the ultimate goal. In the literature, it was also str ongly
suggested that in order for this kind of progress to come about, the students’ personal
language use should be respected and encouraged, so long as it successfully conveys the
meaning. Accordingly, the ALP Project students were encouraged to express themselves in
their own ways, with their own uses of English. Mistakes that did not impede the
conveyance of meaning were still considered acceptable, even though their repetitions
sometimes made some form of remedial action necessary. The project also emp loyed
speaking activities such as class presentations and discussions as another means to help
students practice self -expression.
2.2.6. Working definition of self -expression ability
From all the literature presented above, I have arrived at my own workin g definition
of self-expression ability, to be used throughout this study.
In the context of this study, self -expression ability means the ability to express in
written and spoken English one’s identity in the form of one’s analytical power,
shrewdness of discussion and argument, critical thinking and deep feeling; the ability to
express one’s understanding of and original ideas and comments on literary texts. To be

clearer, “self-expression” here means two things: first, the expression of oneself (one’s
thoughts and feelings, one’s convincing power) and second, expression by oneself and for
oneself (i.e. not copying teachers’ or friends’ ideas or ways of expression in parrot fashion;
independent thinking and individual, self -initiated ways of expressing it ). Self-expression
ability is assessed in two interconnected aspects: the quality (i.e. criticality, originality,
depth and persuasion) of one’s thoughts and feelings, and the overt verbal expression, or
the externalization, of these inner qualities and pr ocesses (e.g. organization of ideas, idea
development and support, language use, writing skills, etc.) In this study, self -expression
ability and literary ability are very similar and used interchangeably.
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Self-expression ability and writing skill (or spe aking skill) are similar but not the
same and should not be mixed up. Writing and speaking skills may or may not include
expression of oneself. One can be said to possess good writing and speaking skills if he/she
writes and speaks grammatically and fluent ly, no matter if there is anything fresh or
individual about his/her expression.
2.3. Conclusion
This chapter has briefly presented the literature on portfolio assessment and self -
expression. What was said about portfolio assessment is also perfectly app licable for the
literature portfolio, because, after all, this approach can be applied in various subjects and
fields with the same principles, and literature is only one of those fields.
The important thing to bear in mind is that the portfolio ultimatel y belongs to the
student (Hewitt 1995, 67). “Portfolios are worth the time and trouble because of their
impact on learning and teaching. Portfolios shift learning to the student and teaching to the
teacher. Students learn content [i.e. knowledge and skills ], but they learn more than that.
They learn about themselves as learners and they have evidence of their progress. They
know what they have learned. Teachers learn about their students and in doing so, learn
about their teaching. They learn what is effect ive and what is not. And, they have evidence
that they have taught their students something worthwhile.” (Neiman 1999)
This chapter also reviewed some important aspects in the concept of self -expression
and then proceeded to put forward a working definiti on of self-expression ability as will be

used throughout this study. In the students’ conduct of the ALP Project, while the portfolio
is the form, self-expression is the content: the form serves to facilitate the realization of the
content; conversely, the content could not be accessed and understood but for an
appropriate form. The propriety of the portfolio approach for the practice of self -
expression ability will be seen more clearly when we look at the design of the portfolio
project in the next chapter .
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CHAPTER 3: DESIGN OF THE AMERICAN LITERA TURE
PORTFOLIO PROJECT
The portfolio project was designed to complement class instruction and maximize the
learning of American Literature. In other words, it is a part of instruction and it serves the
syllabus. The project, therefore, cannot be described in isolation from class activities.
Rather, designed to fit in smoothly with what is taught and learned in the classroom, the
portfolio must be seen not as some extra burden but as an integrated process of the s yllabus
which serve to enrich and enliven class activities.
3.1. Class activities
Due to the limit of class time for American literature (90 minutes, i.e. 2 periods, per
week), class activities are confined to students’ presentations, teacher lecturing an d
suggesting, class discussions, and note -taking.
For feasibility, class activities focus on the author and the text to be covered each
week from the course book. These activities range from answering questions after each text
in the book, raising further questions, to discussing points of interest to students,
expressing feelings and comments on the author, a character, a symbol used, etc. Class
activities such as these are ideally conducted by the students with the teacher’s guidance
and assistance. When problems arise regarding the understanding of a literary matter, the
teacher and students work together, discussing possible ways and layers of interpretation.
3.2. Portfolio project
Along side the class activities, each student has to do an American li terature portfolio
over the course of 12 weeks (Each semester lasts 15 weeks, but with this project, three
weeks are spared for the pre -test, the orientation and discussion of the project).

3.2.1. Components
Each portfolio consists of:
1. 12 class notes (1 note a week) and the student’ own responses: There are 2 parts to
each note: key information, discussion points in class, and what the student himself or
herself thinks about them (see appendix 2);
2. 03 best weekly assignments;
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3. 01 essay on a chosen topic, to be presented orally in class (both first draft and final
essay);
4. 01 graded outline for the oral presentation;
5. 02 peer reviews for the essay;
6. 01 written reflection on what the student has learned doing the portfolio project;
7. (optional) 01 extension project . e.g. a critique on an American literary text (any one of
the student’s choice), a piece of research on factors that affect an author’s works, a
piece of research/analysis on an author’s style. Or the student can write an additional
chapter to a novel or an alternative ending to a story, write prose based on a poem or
play, write a poem based on a play or story, write a play based on a poem/prose, or
write an imaginary interview with an author (based on and about the author’s life and
works)
3.2.2. Rationale and clarification
The class notes make sure that students pay attention to and take part in class
activities, take notes of ideas, comments, or any points that they think important, original,
or worth thinking about during class discussions. The class notes also serve to make
students seriously think about those ideas that have been expressed in class and have their
own responses to them. Differing ideas and further discussion or argument points are
encouraged for the personal responses. Notes on class discussions must be completed in
class, but the responses can be completed at home, after class time to save time for
students’ discussions.
The weekly assignments are done at home and must be completed before class time.
Each weekly assignment has two par ts: the first is answering course book questions (or

teacher-initiated questions) for that week’ literary text, and the second is expressing the
student’s further comments/feelings/impressions on any part, any character, any aspect or
detail of the text th at he/she is most impressed with or interested in. With the weekly
assignment, students are made to prepare the lesson well before class time, their
contributions to class discussions would therefore be greater. Moreover, every week the
teacher collects students’ weekly assignments to check their attendance, to give comments,
guidance and suggestions for their works; the teacher even gives a grade of A to F to
students’ weekly assignments to monitor their progress. Thus, with only one stone, that is
the weekly assignment, the teacher can kill many birds. There are around 11 assignments
22
in total, in accordance with the 11 literary texts in the American literature course book of
the English Department. But at the end of the semester, students can choose the th ree best
weekly assignments to include in their portfolios.
For the essay, students are given a list of American literary texts (they can be short
stories, chapters in novels, poems, scenes in plays written by famous American writers)
which are not in the course book and which students are free to choose from (see appendix
8). Then, they have to explore deeply into one aspect of the text of their choice; for
instance, they can choose to analyze and discuss a character, or even one special
characteristic of the character in the essay. Whatever they choose to write about, they must
ask the teacher first for approval of the topic. After finishing the essay, students give an
oral presentation to briefly present major points of their essays. On the day of a stud ent’s
presentation, he/she must hand in his/her completed essay, together with a general outline
of their presentation. The teacher write comments on the weaknesses and strengths of the
presentation and give a grade (from A to F) on the outline and give it back to the student,
telling him/her to include the graded outline in the portfolio.
The teacher then gives the essay to 2 other students in class, chosen at random,
asking them to read the essay and fill in the peer review form. The two peer reviews and
the essay must be returned to the student within 1 week, so that he/she can base on the peer
reviews to improve the first draft and write the final draft of the essay. Students are
required to have both the first draft and the final essay in their portfol ios.

Students begin to give presentations (and submit their first drafts of essays) from the
seventh week of the 15 -week course. This means every week from the seventh week, 2 -3
students will give their presentations and submit their first drafts. The maxi mum time for
each presentation is 10 minutes.
3.2.3. Assessment
3.2.3.1. Whole-course assessment
Traditionally in the English department, students’ final literature marks are made up
of three different components:
60% final (or end-of-term) exam mark + 30 % oral presentation mark (or oral presentation
+ short midterm essay) + 10% participation mark (participation means attendance and level
of contribution to class activities)
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This way of assessment has become a norm among teachers of literature where I
work, but it is not a fixture. Rather, each teacher is relatively free to adapt this norm to suit
their own teaching, as long as 60% of the final mark is spared for the end -of-term exam
mark.
In the portfolio approach, I aim to change this assessment into:
60% final exam mark + 40% portfolio mark
3.2.3.2. Portfolio assessment (aimed at process)
The assessment for the portfolio project is specified as follows:
- Student’s presentations and portfolios will be a requisite for them to be qualified to sit
the American literature final examination.
- Students’ portfolios must include all the six compulsory components listed above.
Without any of them, students will be disqualified and cannot sit the final examination.
- Students’ portfolio marks will include their presenta tion marks (presentation marks only
make up a small percentage of portfolio marks) and account for 40% of their final marks;
portfolio marks will be given according to the criteria clarified in the marking sheet.
- There is no necessity to have a separate pa rticipation mark as in the traditional
assessment because the marking sheet makes sure that students’ involvement in the subject
is also assessed in their portfolio mark.

- Every week the teacher collects students’ weekly assignments to monitor and guide
their progress as well as to check their attendance. Those who are absent for more than
20% of the total number of lessons are not allowed to sit the final examination.
- The portfolio scoring criteria and system are specified in the marking sheet (see
appendix 1)
3.3. Where does this design fit into the literature review?
As was discussed in chapter two, the portfolio process should not be isolated from
instruction; nor should it be an extra burden on the educational program. On the other
hand, portfolio assessment is at its best when it interacts with and complements instruction
towards the goals of the syllabus. Reflecting this aspect, the design of the American
Literature Portfolio makes sure that students’ work in the portfolio is in perfect harmony
with the syllabus. They need to do writings, research, and presentations on the authors and
texts from the course book, and what they do each week corresponds to the literary text
24
that is taught in class. Thus, the pace of the portfolio process is in accordance with that of
class instruction. Besides, doing the portfolio crucially aids students’ learning of the
literature program. The weekly assignments, for instance, not only help students prepare
ideas and arguments for class activities, but also promote indep endent thinking and
attempts at self-expression. Another example is the class notes, which serve to make
students keep records of important discussion points and respond to them. When
responding happens, either in the emotional or the intellectual realm, l earning happens.
Even the essay, which is about a text outside the course book, greatly contributes to the
achievement of the syllabus goals in the sense that it brings students further material and a
richer view of an author’s writing style, philosophy an d principles, which would strengthen
their understanding of and appreciation for literature. Obviously, this design definitely
lives up to the general expectation that a portfolio must assist formal teaching and learning.
This portfolio project was born to be a helpful part of instruction, aiming at the same
syllabus goals.
This design also fits the general picture of portfolio assessment in that it is composed
of a variety of entries serving the same end: the collected entries range from class notes,

assignment papers, essays, to peer reviews, outlines, drafts and written reflections, all
serving to reveal students’ self -expression abilities.
The portfolio under study, furthermore, clearly reflects the three principles:
collection, selection, and reflection . Students’ collection of the portfolio components is
based on their own selection. For example, among the many discussion points expressed in
class, they need to select the ideas they think most important or interesting to note down, it
being impossible a nd inadvisable to keep records of everything that is uttered in class.
Students have to write assignment papers almost every week, but they just select their three
best writings to put in the portfolio. The essay and presentation are also products of
students’ selection of literary texts and topics to explore. These are only some examples to
demonstrate the role of the selection element in the project. The last principle of reflection
is shown through the peer review and self -reflection sessions.
Another factor that nicely fits this portfolio design in the literature review is its
collaborative nature: the teacher does not set his/her own rules but works with the students
to develop and adjust the criteria; they also discuss the content of the portfolio and the
ways to select items. All this, of course, must be done in a limited period of time, and the
25
teacher must give out all the necessary information, guidance and criteria to start with, but
the students definitely have a role to play in developing and ad apting those to suit their
own needs and conditions. During the portfolio process, the teacher constantly
communicates with individual students about the choice of their topics, the quality of their
work etc., thus indirectly helping in their selection pro cess. Collaboration exists not only
between teacher and students but also between students themselves. The peer review, for
instance, requires that students work with their peers to improve each other’s work.
When it comes to portfolio evaluation, this pr oject also complies closely with the
literature. The evaluation of this project was designed to be both ongoing and summative:
ongoing in that the teacher gives regular evaluations throughout the portfolio process
(weekly assignment and presentation gradin g, observation of students’ progress); and
summative in that a final evaluation is given to the finished product based on evaluations
during the process and on the set criteria. The assessment of portfolio comes from different

sources: besides the teacher’ s ongoing and summative evaluations, peers (through peer
reviews) and students themselves (through self -reflection) also contribute to the assessment
of portfolio.
Last but not least, the design under study is in line with the literature in that the
evaluation of portfolio makes up only part of the whole course evaluation. The fact that
there is also a formal exam adds a touch of all -sidedness and reliability to the final
assessment.
All in all, this section has explained with painstaking care and objectiv ity the extent
to which my design of the American Literature Portfolio Project is grounded in the
literature. After all, all review of literature would be meaningless without its role to
position the subject of investigation in a larger and more complete p icture of what has been
going on regarding that subject.
In my research into portfolio assessment, I have found that although it has been
applied to the teaching and learning of all language skills, of translation, grammar, and
many other areas of EFL in V ietnam, this approach has not been adopted for English and
American literatures. And this study is desired to fill in this gap, so that the picture of
portfolio assessment in Vietnam would become more complete.