On applying process approach in teaching writing skill for grade 10 non major students at dong da high school

1

Chapter 1: Introduction
This very first chapter of the thesis is to introduce the rationale for the study, the aims
and objectives of the study as well as the research questions which the study was to carry out
to find out the answers. It also presents the scope of the study, an overview of the methods
employed to conduct the research as well as the design of the study.

1.1 Rationale
Needless to say, English has played a remarkable role in almost every aspect of life. In
Viet Nam, it is regarded as one of the most important subjects at all level of education.
Working as a teacher of English, I am particularly interested in teaching writing skill.
Therefore, I am concerned with approaches and methods which can help to enhance the
learners’ writing proficiency as well as facilitate their learning English as a second language.
As I observed, learners, especially students at high school, are often afraid of writing
which, as claimed by them, makes them anxious and unconfident when dealing with.
Moreover, the teaching and learning writing skill in many schools mostly involves the using of
the textbooks, many of which have, so far, been opened to considerable debate. To make the
matter worse, writing, which has been considered one of the most difficult skills among
reading, speaking, listening and writing, is not paid sufficient attention as it deserves.
The ideas of investigating deeply into the case intrigued me when I accidentally had a chance
to attend a seminar on process approach at Dong Da high school, which was carried out to help
teachers’ understanding of the process approach and suggest on how to apply it with the new
textbook “English 10”.
Although the process approach has had a widespread influence on the teaching of
writing throughout the English speaking world, its beneficial impact on learners in Viet Nam
context is still questionable. In other words, whether teachers and students in Viet Nam have
any difficulties with the applicability of such an approach in teaching and learning writing? If
so, what are the main constraints in applying the approach with the available new textbook
“English 10”? The thought motivated me to conduct a study to gain better understanding of the
main constraints, if there are any, in applying process approach in particular a context of Viet

Nam.

1.2 Objectives of the Study
First, the research concentrates on investigating the current situation of teaching
writing skill at Dong Da high school with grade 10, non-major students. Secondly, the thesis
will make an attempt to find out the main constraints in applying process approach to the


2

teaching and learning of writing skill in the given context. Finally, the study is aimed at
suggesting some feasible solutions to help teachers and students at the school improve the
quality of teaching and learning writing skill.

1.3 .Research Questions and Research Methods
In order to achieve the research objectives, the study was designed to find out the
answers to the following questions:
1. What are the teachers’ methods and strategies in teaching writing skill?
2. What would be done to improve the teaching of writing skill?
A combination of methods was chosen to achieve the research aim and objectives,
including qualitative research and survey research. An extensive review of literature is made
first to examine approaches in teaching writing skill, critically focusing on relevant literature
on the process approach in teaching the writing skill. Besides, survey questionnaires were
delivered to both the samples of teachers and students to obtain their teaching and learning
methods and strategies of writing skill. Semi- structure interviews for both selected teachers
and students in the samples are followed to clarify participants’ ideas.

1.4 .Scope of the Study
Because of the time constraint, the study was conducted on the teachers and students of
grade 10 with the new textbook “English 10” at Dong Da high school only. Especially, the

study deals with the current situations of English teaching at Dong Da high school, focusing on
the teachers’ methods and strategies in teaching writing in order to find out the constraints
remained in applying the process approach so that some feasible solutions would be drown.

1.5 . Design of the Study
The study is divided into 5 chapters:
Chapter 1 presents an overview of the study including the rationale, the objectives, the
scope, the research questions and research methods as well as the design of the whole study.
Chapter 2 reviews the literature relevant to the study. Chapter 3 is a detailed description of
current situation of teaching and learning writing skill of the grade 10 students with the
textbook “English 10” at Dong Da School. In this chapter, the textbook “English 10” is
introduced first, followed by the discussion of the teachers’ methods and strategies in teaching
writing skill as well as students’ methods and strategies in learning the skill. Chapter 4, which
is the most important part of the study, presents data collection methods and significant
findings. It, then, draws out suggestions for feasible application of the process approach in


3

teaching and learning writing skill in a given setting. Chapter 5, the last chapter of the thesis,
includes a brief review of the study and some pedagogical implications. It also points out the
limitations of the study.

1.6. Summary
In this chapter, a brief overview of the study is presented. The next chapter will review
the literature that is relevant to the study.

Chapter 2: Literature Review
This chapter gives an overview of relevant literature and researches that deal
with approaches in teaching writing skill.

2.1.

Approaches in Teaching Writing

Nowadays, the teaching of writing has long been a central element in all educational
system and there are many, often conflicting, views of teaching writing. (Tribble, 1996:37). As
trends in the teaching of writing have coincided with those of other skills, especially listening
and speaking (Brown, 2000: 334), teachers who are willing to adopt new approaches as well as
new methods on how to teach fluency not just accuracy. Additionally, authentic texts and
context in the classroom are used creatively shifting the focus on the language itself to the
focus on the purposes of linguistic communication.
Up to dates, there are several ways to approach writing in the classroom. It should be
said at the beginning that there is not necessarily any 'right' or 'best' way to teach writing skill.
The best practice in any situation will depend on the type of student, the text type being
studied, the school system and many other factors (Steele, 2007: 43). Different ways in
approaching the tasks inform major movement in the teaching of writing (Raimes, 1983: 23760). According to Raimes, there are 3 principal ways of approaching the task: focusing on
form, focusing on the writer and focusing on the reader. The first perspective can be found in
traditional, text-based approach. Teachers who adopt this approach often present authoritative


4

text for students to imitate or adapt and they may see errors as something they have a
professional obligation to correct and eliminate (Tribble, 1996: 37). The second approach
which is called “process approach” emerges in part as a reaction against the tradition of formfocus. It particularly stresses on the writers as an independent producers of text. The third
approach called “genre approach” is considered to be more socially oriented with the
assumption that if the reader cannot recognize the purpose of a text, communication can not be
successful.
2.1.1

Product Approach

For a long time, product approach has been claimed to dominate much of the teaching
of English as second language in general and the teaching of writing in particular. According
to Brown (1994: 320), this approach greatly focuses on the linguistic knowledge such as the
appropriate use of vocabulary, syntax, and cohesive devices. In product approaches, there are 4
stages in teaching and learning writing: familiarization, controlled writing, guided writing, and
free writing. Such an approach places the focus on how to enable students to produce similar
texts. Robinson (1991, cited in Chinh, 2007:12) claims that the product approach to writing
usually involves the presentation of a model text which is analyzed and the basis of a task that
leads to the writing of an exactly similar text. And according to Robinson (1991), product
approach can be summarized in the following figure:
Model text

comprehension/analysis/ manipulation
PARALLEL TEXT

NEW INPUT

Figure 1: Model of Product Approach

Although there have been some modern approaches in teaching writing, advantages of
the product approach can not be denied since this approach stresses the need for learners to
have linguistic knowledge about texts. In addition, it is a fact that imitation is one way of
learning. The approach, therefore, has contributed considerably to the developments of
learners’ linguistic knowledge and it is very useful in practical teaching.
However, the traditional product approach is also claimed to be totally teacher-centered and
product-focused. One of the most prominent weaknesses of the product approach is that the
process skills of learners are given a relatively small role or even undervalued.

2.1.2

Process Approach

During the seventies of the 20th century, while the product approach received a lot of
criticism, many teachers at the forefront of the development of the process approach have
proposed methodologies emphasizing the creatively and unpredictability of writing (Tribble,


5

1996:37). In the process approach, the teaching of writing has begun to move away from a
concentration on the written product to an emphasis on the process of writing. All writers make
decisions on how to begin and how to organize the task. Therefore, they do not write on a
given topic in a restricted time and hand in the composition for the teacher to correct. The role
of teachers, therefore, is as education facilitators.
As described in Zamel (1983: 147) and Raimes (1985: 231), in the process approach,
the process of writing is seen as a recursive and complex process. In other words, although
there are identifiable stages in the process of writing, writers can still revisit any of these stages
many times before a text is completed.
PREWRITING
COMPOSING/
DRAFTING
REVISING
EDITING

PUBLISHING

Figure 2: Model of process approach.

Since it lays the emphasis on the writers’ writing process, the process approach has
been widely accepted. The focus on the writer inherent in the development of process approach
has brought a range of benefits to teachers and students. (Tribble, 1996: 40).
According to Graham Stanley (2007:16), although there are many ways of approaching process
writing, it can be broken down into three stages:


Pre-writing
The teacher needs to be stimulate students' creativity, to get them thinking how to
approach a writing topic. In this stage, the most important thing is the flow of ideas,
and it is not always necessary that students actually produce much (if any) written
work. If they do, then the teacher can contribute with advice on how to improve their
initial ideas.



Focusing ideas
During this stage, students write without much attention to the accuracy of their work
or the organization. The most important feature is meaning. Here, the teacher (or other


6



students) should concentrate on the content of the writing. He or she can raise the
questions “Is it coherent? Is there anything missing? Anything extra?”
Evaluating, structuring and editing
now the writing is adapted to a readership. Students should focus more on form and on
producing a finished piece of work. The teacher can help with error correction and give

organizational advice.

Obviously, the process approach has made great improvement in practical teaching in
comparison with the product approach. A teacher who adopts the approach will try to respect
the learners’ cultural background and avoid the imposition of ideas or language behavior. The
teaching and learning materials which make use of these approaches typically attempt to
encourage creativity in very practical ways.
However, writing is a complex process and can lead to learner frustration. As with
speaking, it is necessary to provide a supportive environment for the students and be patient.
This approach also states that more time be spent on writing in class, but not all classroom time
is spent actually writing. Students may also react negatively to reworking the same material,
but as long as the activities are varied and the objectives clear, then they will usually accept
doing so. In the long term, teachers and students will start to recognize the value of a process
writing approach as their written work improves (Stanley, 2007: 9).
2.1.3 Genre Approach
According to Lin (2002: 18), the teaching and learning around text genres has become
increasingly influential in mainstream ELT in countries. However, their influence in EFL in
East Asian countries still appears limited.
A genre comprises a class of communicative events, the members of which share some
set of communicative purposes. These purposes are recognizes by the experts members of the
parent discourse community and there by constitute the rationales for the genre. (Swales, 1990:
58).
Genre-based approaches begin with the whole text as the unit in focus rather than the
sentence (Derewianka, 2003a: 120-22). In addition, genre-based approaches are concerned
with the social macro-purposes of language, and not just the semantic micro-functions of
individual words and sentences. The genres in focus are generally defined according to the
broad social purposes of communication. Finally, the focus on whole texts implies recognition


7

that there is a higher level of order and patterning in language than just the sentence grammar. Genre-based approaches emphasize that this higher order must be attended to for
effective language use: "all texts conform to certain conventions, and that if a student is to be
successful in joining a particular English-language discourse community, the student will need
to be able to produce texts which fulfill the expectations of its readers in regards to grammar,
organization, and context" (Kim & Kim, 2005, citing Lin, 2002: 11).
Genre-based teaching helps students participate effectively not only in the school
curriculum but also in the broader community. This approach holds the view that learning
language is a social activity and the process of learning language is a series of “scaffolded
developmental steps” that address different aspects of language. Dudley- Evans (1997)
identifies three stages in genre approach to writing. First of all, a model of a particular genre is
introduced and analyzed, students then carry out exercises which manipulate relevant language
forms and finally, students create texts. To write in a particular genre, students must be aware
of the formal patterns that shape a text. Genre analysis, therefore, can provide the vocabulary
and concepts to explicitly teach the text structures teachers would like their students to
produce. The approach also offers students a relatively fixed discourse model that they can use
for reference, thus students will gain confidence in producing texts that serve their intended
purposes.
According to Tribble (1996:60), it is necessary to extend the model of writing in
process approach so as to show how contents, context, process and language knowledge
interrelate with each other and can be realized in practical classroom procedures.

PREWRITING

research into genre
Select genre for classroom study
Collect corpus data
Student research into genre
Teacher

writing
REVISING
EDITING

PUBLISHING

Figure 3: Model of genre approach


8

However, the genre approach, as to negative side, is claimed to be prescriptive rather
than descriptive, therefore, adopting such an approach will lead to the lack of creativity in the
learners. In addition to this, students may feel this teaching approach is rather boring and their
final products sometimes may be found stereotyped.

2.2

Process Approach versus Other Approaches
2.2.1 Process Approach versus Product Approach
Up to dates, the conclusion can be made by Raimes (1983: 96) is that, in the process
approach, students do not have to write on a given topic in a restricted time and hand in the
composition for the teacher to correct. In other words, in the process approach the focus of
teaching and learning is placed on the process of writing rather than the final product. In
product approach, the process skills and the knowledge that students bring to the classroom are
undervalued while in process approach, there is a great emphasis on activities such as
collaborative group work and peer evaluation. As a result, product-based approaches see
writing as mainly concerned with knowledge about the structure of language and writing
development as mainly the result of the imitation of input in the form of texts provided by the
teachers. By contrast, in process approach, students can explore a topic through writing,

showing the teachers and each other drafts and using what they write to read over, think about
and move them onto new ideas (Raimes, 1983:96).
However, according to Brown (1994:337) the current emphasis on process writing must
of course be seen in the perspective of a balance between process and product. Brown points
out that after all, the final product is the ultimate goal and it is the reason that we go through
the process of prewriting, drafting, revising and editing. In short, process is the means to the
end not the end.
2.2.2

Process Approach versus Genre Approach

Despite the fact that the process approach has made a great improvement in practical
teaching in comparison with the product approach, the process approach also came under
attack from various genre theorists. One of its limitations claimed is that it does not address the
needs of learners who have to write for readers unknown to them. Another limitation pointed
out by Martin is that the approach doesn’t take into account the vast differences between
speaking and writing (1985, cited in Anh, 2001). However, limitations of the genre approach
are also recognized by many theorists. First of all, the genre approach may prove to be textcentered approach rather than a student – centered one (Chinh, 2007: 12). Another weakness


9

of the approach arises from the fact that, in practical teaching, it is unable for teachers to teach
all the genres to the students in the classroom.
In spite of the tension between the two trends, many theorists (Bam forth 1993: 97;
Candery 1997, cited in Tribble 1996: 61) claimed that there is a relation between them. It is
possible to see the emergence of effective solution to teaching and learning problems which
draw on the strengths of both process and genre approaches and they should not be seen as
incompatible.

2.3

Recent Researches on the Teaching and Learning of Writing Skill

Hereafter are some cases concerning the teaching and learning of writing skill. These
studies can be roughly divided into two groups. The first one will include the studies dealing
with approaches in teaching writing skill. The later will cover some researches about aspects in
teaching writing as a language skill.
 Studies concerning approaches in teaching writing
The first research mentioned focuses on the teaching and learning correspondence writing at
Hai Phong University by Chinh (2007). As stated in the research, the researcher tried to look
into “some pending matters of theory and practice” with the hope to contribute to the
improvement of ESP teaching- learning in general and business correspondence writing in
particular (Chinh 2007:2). Although a combined product- process approach was suggested, no
teaching application had been carried out in side the classroom to assess whether it really
worked.
Another research involves “the applying of a genre-based approach in teaching writing
of the English discussion genre to Vietnamese EFL students at tertiary level”. (Anh, 2000: 4).
The participants of the study were a group of Vietnamese second - year university students,
who were invited to participate in four-week program. During the program, a systemic
functional linguistic genre-based approach was used to teach how to write discussions in
English. The study resulted in students’ successful control of the genre in focus and significant
improvement in various areas of linguistic knowledge taught in the program.
Next study is “a paper documents an initiative in introducing a genre-based approach to EFL
teaching in the Japanese university context, in a third-year writing program” conducted by
Benedict Lin (2007). Its aim is to illustrate how and why such an approach may be extended to
EFL teaching. The results of the study are that the students, in their assignments and
examinations, produce good coherent writing in the genres taught. “The writing of the best
students even under examination conditions is impressive, showing ability to adapt the features
learnt for their own communicative purposes”. (Lin, 2007: 19).

10

The last study reviewed in this part is the study by Fei-Wen Cheng (2008). It addressed the
need by evaluating the functional approach to genre in an EFL composition course in Taiwan
as college freshmen learned how to write a narrative text. Results indicated that students’
essays exhibited large pre- to posttest gains in specific rhetorical moves (i.e. character’s
problem illustration and struggle identification), in content development, in textual coherence
and in language usage.
 Studies on aspects in teaching writing as a language skill
The first study mentioned in this part is a research on how to bring some energy and
excitement to the process of writing on first year students in advanced programmed at National
Economics University by Pham Thi Mai Thanh (2007). Data was collected and analyzed
through questionnaires and class observation after 10 weeks of teaching. The results revealed
that creative writing not only brought in fun and pleasure into the writing lessons but also
helped to enhance students’ writing ability.
Within the topic of motivational factors for students in writing, Nhung (2005) had
carried out a research on first year English major students at College of Foreign Languages,
Viet Nam National University, Ha Noi. The study arrived at some conclusion and suggestions
to improve the teaching and learning writing skill for the context of the study and other
contexts.
In series of studies concerning error analysis in writing, Nguyen Van Loi (1999) had
conducted a research on “the causes of Errors in Written English of Full-Time Vietnamese
Students of English at the Intermediate Level”. The study defined some common mistakes of
the students in the study context and gave some suggestions to improve the teaching and
learning the skill at the level of the study.
The last research of this part involves the EFL writing strategy conducted in Dali an
University of Technology in China by Liu Wenyu & Lu Yang. The study aims at analyzing the
relations among writing proficiency, writing strategy and writing scores. It is found that there

exist significant differences in strategy use between English major and non-English major
writers; English major students hold a more positive attitude towards English writing; both
English major students and non-English major students cannot handle the strategy of
“coherence” well and English major students pay more attention to “global” strategies while
non-English major students pay more attention to “local” strategies. (Wenyu & Yang, 2006)
 How may this study fit in with previous studies in its area of research?
As stated previously in this part, there have been so many researches on the teaching and
learning of writing skill conducted in Viet Nam as well as in other countries. Although those


11

studies’ findings have contributed considerably to the improvement of the teaching and
learning English in general and the teaching and learning writing skill in particular, there has
been a gap that needs to be filled in.
Firstly, up to dates, there have been a lot of studies on approaches in teaching writing
skill in Viet Nam but none on process approach with the learners at elementary level.
Secondly, the teaching and learning English in general and teaching and learning of writing
skill particularly in Viet Nam still reveals some weaknesses. Among the solutions suggested
by most of the studies in Viet Nam to improve the quality of teaching and learning English,.
Further discussion on approaches, methods and techniques in teaching and learning EFL in the
context of Viet Nam is needed. Finally, most of the studies on approaches in teaching writing
skill in Viet Nam focused their researches on the teaching and learning English at universities.
It can be hardly found any at high school or lower level of educations.
The present study, therefore, was designed to address some aspects that are hopefully
to fill some of the existing gaps in a number of studies reviewed above.

2.4

Summary

The chapter so far has presented the relevant literature including the approaches in
teaching writing and the analysis of some cases on teaching and learning the skill in Viet Nam
as well as in some other countries. In general, though it still bears some limitations, process
approach has made a great improvement in practical teaching in comparison with the product
approach and it is believed to be effective with learners of foreign languages especially at
elementary level.
The following chapter, named chapter 3, will be devoted to the discussion of the
methods of the study in the light of the above-mentioned theories.


12

Chapter 3: Current Teaching and Learning Writing Skill
for Grade 10 Students at Dong Da School
It is commonly believed that teachers’ and learners’ methods and strategies in teaching
and learning play a significant role in language learning particularly in writing. After a
description of the textbook “English 10” is made, this chapter will address a brief overview on
teachers ’and learners ’profile, their language proficiency as well as their teaching and learning
methods and strategies in teaching and learning writing skill.

3.1. The Textbook “English 10”
The new textbook “English 10” composed by Van, H.V et al (2006) has been in use
since 2006 as the official textbook to learn general English at grade 10. The book consists of
22 units in which there are 16 studying units and 6 revision units. As the book is theme-based,
each unit is relevant to a specific theme and has the following consistent parts: A. Reading, B.
Speaking, C .Listening, D. Writing and E. Language focus. Six revision units were designed in
the form of test yourself so that students can test their ability and knowledge after the
completion of every two or three units (relevant to 10-15 in-class periods). Revision units are
also valuable references for teachers who have to design 45-minute tests for students. In

addition to this, the glossary at the end of the book is a useful list of vocabulary categorized
according to themes including phonetic symbols and meanings.


13

The writing part includes various tasks that are aimed at developing writing skill of
students on different topics such as: writing a letter, writing a description of a city etc…....
Even though, there is a separate part of writing, the skill is still presented integrating with other
skills such as reading and speaking. There are 10 types of exercises that help students to
develop their writing skill
1. Reading the passages for specific words
2. Reading the passages and answering the questions
3. Matching words and phrases
4. Asking and answering questions
5. Completing a dialogue
6. Group or pair discussion
7. Completing a table
8. Gap-filling
9. Re arranging jumped sentences
10. Completing the sentences using the prompt words
Tasks covered in the book include:
1. Writing a narrative
2. Writing about people’s background
3. Writing a letter of complaint
4. Writing a set of instructions
5. Writing a confirmation letter
6. Writing about advantages and disadvantages of the mass media
7. Writing an informal letter of giving directions
8. Describing information from a table

9. Write a letter of invitation
10. Writing a letter of acceptance or refusal
11. Writing a profile
12. Describing a film
13. Writing an announcement
14. Describing a city
15. Describing a chart
The textbook “English 10” is considered to be learner-friendly and has much
improvement in terms of linkage (among units and tasks) and appropriacy and so on in
comparison with the previous ones. However, Sheldon (1988) claims that textbook appraisal is


14

not a once- only activity, a textbook can only be meaningfully determined during and after its
period of classroom use.
In this study, we will have a chance to explore teachers and students’ attitudes of the
textbook “English 10”. The research findings are hoped to be used as one of the effective
feedback channels of the applicability of process approach in a specific context with the new
textbook “English 10”.

3.2. Teachers’ Methods and Strategies in Teaching Writing
80% of the teachers of English at Dong Da high school obtained Bachelors of Arts and
20 % are Masters. Their methods and strategies in teaching writing are quite different from
one another. Some teachers who are young and active are willing to adopt new approaches and
explore new methods in teaching while some teachers prefer traditional methods in teaching
writing skill. As a result, for those teachers teaching writing means giving sample, getting the
class to write about a given topic and collecting the writing for marking. The learning of
writing skill, therefore, is not interesting to students and the teaching and learning are not as
effective as expected.

On the whole, the teaching of the skill just involves the use of the textbook and
teachers rarely look for additional material from other sources.

3.3. Students’ Language Proficiency, learning methods and strategies of
writing skill
Non- major students at grade 10 in Dong Da high school are mostly from Ha Noi. A
small number are from the suburb areas but they have lived in Ha Noi for several years and
“become” permanent residents in the city. All of them have been learning English at secondary
school, using “seven - year text books”. However, the students come from different families
therefore their language proficiency ranges greatly partly due to conditions to learn English,
and many other factors affecting their L2 acquisition such as attitudes, motivation…..In
addition, though they may be good at grammar and other skills, many of them can not write
well at high school. This is mainly because their written English is lower than expected.
Finally, at lower levels of education, students are rarely given a chance to obtain feedback
from peers and their teachers. Their writing process is seldom paid as much attention as it
deserved.

3.4. Summary


15

The chapter has presented the description of the text book, the teachers and learners’
profile and their methods and strategies in teaching and learning writing skill. On the whole,
the teaching and writing at non- major class is not as effective and interesting as expected. Due
to a lot of reasons, the teaching of writing skill stays at using the text book. Consequently, the
students face with many difficulties in learning the skill.
The next chapter will address the data collection methods and findings of the study.

Chapter 4: Data Collection Methods and Findings

In this chapter, the first part is a detailed description of the methods used in the study.
It also addresses the justification of the choice of data collection instruments: questionnaire
survey and interviews as well as the participants of the study. Later on in the chapter are the
findings of the research and the discussion of the data collected through the study.

4.1. The Research Questions
In order to achieve the above-mentioned aim and objectives, the study was designed to
find out the answers to the following questions:


16

1. What are the teachers’ methods and strategies in teaching writing skill?
2. What would be done to improve the teaching of writing skill?

4.2. Research Methods
4.2.1. The Subjects
The sample included 5 groups of grade 10 students who were studying English as
foreign language at Dong Da high school. The participants were selected firstly on the basis of
randomly sampling. 10 classes of grade 10 students were numbered form 1 to 10 and odd
numbers were selected. In fact, there are 2 gifted classes in English but they were selected by
other researchers. Therefore, the researcher of this thesis unselected them to avoid causing too
much inconvenience to those students. There are 10 teachers of English at the school and all of
them were selected as the subjects of the study.

4.2.2. Data Collection Instruments
The study was attempted to investigate into the reality of teaching and learning writing
skill at grade 10 in Dong Da high school so as to find out whether process approach is
applicable in given settings.
As the complexity of the issue is obvious, it is necessary to use a combination of both

qualitative and action research. According to Grillham (2000: 9), the great strength of
qualitative methods is that they can “illuminate issue and turn up possible explanation:
essentially a search for meaning”. It is also stated in Gay (1996: 38) that qualitative research
can obtain a more complete picture of the educational process and in-depth understanding of
the phenomenon under the study. Therefore, a variety of data collection tools was used,
including survey questionnaires for both teachers and students and semi-structured interviews
with the purposes of clarifying the participants’ opinions.

4.2.2.1. Survey Questionnaires
Survey questionnaire is used in this research because it is stated in Grillham (2000: 7)
that questionnaire is a good choice for many researches as it has many prospects such as low
cost in time and money, easy to get information from a lot of people very quickly, less pressure
for an immediate response and more convenience for respondents…..However, to avoid the
negative features of questionnaires, written questionnaires for both teachers and students are
designed so carefully so as to avoid misunderstanding and inconvenience to the respondents.
 Survey questionnaires for teachers
The survey questionnaires for teachers consist of 2 parts. In the first part, there are 3 questions
that aim to gain better understanding about personal information of the participants. In the


17

second part, there are 12 questions in which, two are open- ended questions with tables, one
yes-no question and 9 multiple-choice questions (see Appendix 1 for details)
The questions are attempted to explore the teachers’ methods and strategies in teaching writing
skill, their judgments of the textbook “English 10” as well as the applicability of process
approach in their real teaching.
The questionnaires for teachers were given to 10 teachers during the breaks of the
lessons and collected by the researchers. The number of collected surveys was 10 and all were
used for analysis.

 Survey questionnaire for students
The survey questionnaire for students consists of 2 parts; the first part is to get general
information about the respondents. The second part includes 9 questions in which there are 2
yes-no questions, two open- ended questions with tables and 5 multiple choice questions (see
Appendix 2 for details). The questions are designed to investigate the learning strategies and
methods of students in learning writing skill. Besides, the questions are also aimed at exploring
students’ judgment on writing tasks and topics in the course book “English 10” as well as the
effectiveness of their teachers’ methods in teaching writing skill.
The questionnaires for students were translated into Vietnamese so as to avoid
misunderstanding. The questionnaires were delivered to 250 students at Dong Da high school
at the beginning of the class time so that they can complete it during the breaks and then, were
collected by the monitors of the classes. With 250 survey questionnaire for students, the
number of collected surveys was 227. The number of surveys used for analysis is 200.
The data gained from the two surveys is reported in 4.4

4.2.2.2. Semi- Structured Interview
A semi-structured interview method was chosen in this research because it enables the
researcher to gain deep insight and understanding of the current situation of teaching and
learning writing skill at Dong Da high school. Grillham (2000: 10) claims that the
overpoweringly positive feature of the interview is the richness and vividness of the material it
turns up. Additionally, a semi-structure interview offers the interviewer a great deal of
flexibility while it also leaves the interviewee a degree of power and control over the course of
interview (Dowsett, 1986:53). A semi-structure interview brought about a great deal of rich
and reliable data because of its semi- familiarity.


18

The semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 teachers and 20 students after
the analysis of the two survey questionnaires’ data was completed so that the researcher could

clarify unclear issues from the survey and seek for further information. There are 10 teachers
in the school and all of them were interviewed. The teachers were interviewed individually in
English. In 5 classes selected for the survey, the researcher randomly selected 20 students (4
students in each class). The interviews questions for students were translated into Vietnamese
so as to avoid misunderstanding and the students could find it easy to express their ideas. The
students were interviewed in group. All of the interviews were conducted outside the school so
that the interviewees could feel comfortable to give their opinions.

4.3. Findings and Discussion
4.3.1. The Surveys
In this part, research data will be analyzed in detail. Since the questionnaires designed
for both teachers and students focus on the three main issues: the comments of teachers and
students on the textbook “English 10”, teachers ‘and students’ teaching and learning methods
and strategies and teachers’ judgments on the applicability of the process approach in teaching
writing skill, the analysis will concentrate on these issues.

4.3.1.1. Findings and Discussion about Writing Tasks and Topics in the
Textbook “English 10”
1. What do you think about the writing topics and exercises in the textbook “English 10”?
(Question 1 for students and question 1 for teachers)
Comments

Teachers
Students
(%)
(%)
Effective
100
78
Not effective

0
0
Interesting
100
66
Not interesting
10
34
Varied
100
87
Not varied
0
0
Relevant
100
81
Irrelevant
0
17
Easy
10
19
Difficult
20
36
Table 1: Comments of the T and S on the topics and exercises in the textbook

According to the result shown in the table, the majority of the subjects indicated that
the topics and exercises in the textbook were interesting and relevant in helping students

develop their writing skill. All of the teachers (100%) believed that writing topics and
exercises in the textbook are interesting, relevant and varied. However, 20% of them think that


19

the topics are quite difficult despite the fact that they are interesting enough such as describing
the chart/ table or giving instruction.
As for students, most of them supposed that the topics in the book are varied, effective
and relevant. 36% and 34% of the students say that the topics are difficult and uninteresting
respectively. No one thinks that the exercises and topics are not varied and not effective. This
can be interpreted that the textbook is highly appreciated.
2. What do you think about the writing tasks in the textbook “English 10” in term of
helping students to develop writing skill? (Question 2 for students and 2 for teachers)
Types of tasks
Writing a narrative
Writing about people
background
Writing a letter of complaint
Writing a set of instruction
Writing a letter of confirmation
Writing about advantages and
disadvantages of the mass
media
Writing an informal letter of
giving direction
Describing information from a
table
Writing a letter of invitation
Writing a letter of acceptance

or refusal
Writing a profile
Describing a film
Writing an announcement
Describing a city
Describing chart
Other types you use in the

Greatly effective
T(%)
S (%)

Quite effective
T(%)
S (%)

effective
T(%)
S (%)
27
18

Not effective
T(%)
S
(%)
10
6
0
2

Don’t know
T(%)
S
(%)
0
0
0
0

50
30

60
65

20
50

13
15

20
20

30
40
40
10

30
52
42
15

50
40
40
20

30
34
44
15

10
20
20
50

35
14
14
25

10
0
0
30

5
0
0
18

0
0
0
10

0
0
0
27

40

60

50

31

10

9

0

0

0

0

30

46

20

12

40

25

10

17

0

0

30
40

50
57

30
50

15
29

40
10

35
10

0
0

0
4

0
0

0
0

40
40
20
40
30

68
52
10
46
23

40
20
50
30
30

20
25
15
28
35

20
50
10
30
40

12
14
20
26
15

0
0
20
0
0

0
0
25
0
12

0
0
10
0
0

0
0
30
0
13

lesson (please specify……

Table 2: Comments of T and S on the writing tasks in the textbook

According to the result shown in Table 2, there are various views on the effectiveness

of the writing tasks in the textbook, ranging from greatly effective, quite effective, not
effective and don’t know. At the first place, the majority of the teachers and students think that
the following tasks are effective and relevant:
Writing about people’s background
Writing a letter of invitation
Writing a letter of acceptance or refusal
Describing a film
Describing a city


20

It is suggestable that students seem to favor the tasks that familiar with their real lives
and they can use them right after the lesson into their daily life. However, they also add that
they expect the teachers to use more teaching aids such as film, pictures etc in writing lessons.
Contrary to our expectation, some tasks that receive most support from the teachers such as
writing about advantages and disadvantages of the mass media and describing chart/table turn
out to be least preferable to students. Students might find them confused and difficult in
expressing and organizing ideas as well as choosing appropriate vocabulary.
Furthermore, students have different ideas on the following tasks:
Writing a narrative
Writing a letter of complaint
Writing a letter of confirmation
Writing a formal letter of giving direction
In sum, the result of the first section of the questionnaire has revealed that most of the teachers
and students seem to appreciate the textbook “English 10”. The next sub-section will
investigate their preference of methods and strategies in teaching and learning writing skill.

4.3.1.2. Findings and Discussions about Teachers’ and Learners’ Methods
and Strategies in Teaching and Learning Writing Skill

 Teachers’ Methods and Strategies in Teaching Writing Skill
1.
How often do you apply those techniques in teaching writing skill for your
students (question 3 for teachers)
The question is designed to find out the frequency use of these following techniques by
the teachers.
Activities
Give and analyze samples
Show students how to construct a
sentence
Show students how to construct a
paragraph
Present vocabulary in topic
Leave time for students to
brainstorming
Help students to make a simple
outline
Ask students to discuss to
develop ideas
Show students how to express
their ideas
Ask students to write in a limited
time
Encourage students to correct
mistakes themselves and write
many drafts
Encourage peer-correction
Teacher corrects a typical
composition

Always
0
0

Usually
30
40

Sometimes
60
50

Rarely
10
10

Never
0
0

0

30

60

10

0

0
0

60
80

30
20

10
0

0
0

0

20

60

20

0

50

20

20

10

0

80

10

10

0

0

70

10

10

10

0

80

10

10

0

0

40
60

20
20

20
10

10
10

10