To help grade 11 students in mai anh tuan high school write better personal pecount the ggenre based approach

TABLE OF CONTENT
PAGE
I. ABSTRACT

01

II. AIMS OF THE RESEARCH
1. Aims

01

2. Definitions of terms

02

III. RATIONALE AND JUSTIFICATION

03 - 04

IV. LITERATURE REVIEW

04 - 05

V. METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH SCHEDULE
1. Independent and Dependent Variables

06

2. Research Design

06 - 07

3. Data Collection Procedures

08 - 11

3.1. Selection of Subjects

09

3.2. Lesson Plans

09 - 10

3.3. The Writing Tests

10

3.4. Student Questionnaire

10

3.5. Teacher’s diary

11

4. Data analysis
4.1. Quantitative Method

11

4.2. Qualitative Method

11

5. Research Schedule

12

VI. EXPECTED FINDINGS

13

VII. CONCLUSION

13

APPENDICES
BIBLIOGRAPHY

14

QUESTIONNAIRE

15

Prepared by: Le Hong Phong - Mai Anh Tuan High School


I. ABSTRACT
Writing is the most difficult skill out of the four, which is challenging the

students in Mai Anh Tuan high school. Most of them have difficulty in
identifying the structure as well as language features that each text type should
have. This project outlines an action research study on using the genre approach
to teach grade 11 students to write personal recounts. They will receive the
instruction from the researcher using the genre-based approach over 7 weeks. The
study will explore the effects of the new approach on the overall performance of
students writing recount texts and students’ feeling about the use of that approach.
The findings of this study will be based on data collected from the pre and post
tests, the questionnaire before and after the treatment, and the diary written by the
teacher. I do hope that the students’ personal recount writing will improve after
the period of treatment. They will be provided with clear structure, language
features and given step-by-step scaffolding in four stages. Furthermore, the new
method may positively change the students’ attitude towards writing, and make
them feel more confident in writing personal recount essays.
II. AIMS OF THE RESEARCH
1. Aims:
The goal of this research is to investigate whether the teaching with genrebased approach will help students overcome the difficulties in writing personal
recount. Therefore, the researcher’s first objectives are to find out the difficulties
his students are facing, and how much the new method helps improve their
writing. A number of lessons which are planned based on the steps of this
approach will be applied in classroom for a period of time to answer that
question. Besides, through questionnaires the researcher will explore the students’
feeling about the use of genre approach in teaching writing personal recount.
In short, the research is designed to investigate the following questions:
1.1 What difficulties do grade 11 students in Mai Anh Tuan High School face in
writing personal recount?

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1.2. To what extent does teaching with genre-based approach help the students
improve their personal recount writing?
1.3. . How do the students feel about the use of genre-based approach in writing
personal recount?
2. Definitions of terms
Genre: A genre, for Martin (1984) is “a staged, goal-oriented, purposeful
activity in which speakers engage as members of our culture”. Less technically,
genres are the ways people make meaning with one another in stages to achieve
their purposes (Callaghan & Rothery, 1988). Derewianka (1992, cited in Gwee,
1997 p.9) defined “genre” as the schematic structure of a text which helps to
achieve its purpose.
Genre-based

approach:

Genre-based

approach

is

fundamentally

underpinned by a socially-based theory of language. According to Halliday’
(1985), genre-based approach is a systemic-functional model of language which
see grammar as a “resource for making meaning”. This approach focuses on the
communicative purpose of writing in a specific social context. Therefore,
different text types have different purposes and audiences, and practitioners of the
genre approach attempt to make students aware of the differences between the
genres to aid their writing.

Recount: A recount is a piece of text that retell past events, usually in the
order in which they occurred. Its purpose is to provide the audience with a
description of what occurred and when it occurred (e.g. blogs, diaries, eyewitness
recounts, historical recounts, etc.). (Anderson, M. & Anderson, C., 1998).
Personal recount: retelling of an activity that the writer or speaker has
been personally involved (e.g. oral anecdotes, letters, diaries) (Derewianka,
1992).
III. RATIONALE AND JUSTIFICATION
Although genre-based approach has been a controversial topic, it was
stated to be very effective in teaching and learning English in EFL classroom.
Teachers use models can help free students from the fears of writing (Kay &

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Dudley-Evans, 1998). Moreover, with the knowledge of recount genre, students
are familiar with the linguistic skills and can produce the right text type to
achieve their intended communicative purpose (Gwee, 1990). Genre-based
approach has been widely used to teach writing in many schools as well as
universities worldwide, and positive results have been attained. The findings from
the study of Chandrika (2001) was a typical example.
In Thanh Hoa, particularly in my school, most of the teachers and students
who use English as a foreign language find that writing is the most laborious of
the four language skills. The current curriculum requires my colleagues, who
have been used to traditional teaching methods, to use numerous strategies to help
the students develop those skills only in three classes a week. Although our
students have some background knowledge of general English in the last five
years, their writing ability is at a very low level. They are only able to write at
sentence levels, while the syllabus demands them to produce essays. When being
asked to write a personal recount, most of them do not know how to make ideas

well organized, and even produce texts with an inappropriate genre. As a result,
their scores are unsatisfactory even though they are hard-working. Furthermore,
the students are not highly motivated to learn English except for preparing for
tests or examinations. English is one of the compulsory subjects in their schoolleaving exam whose questions are multiple choice.
With those issues in mind, I would like to help my students lessen the
difficulties in writing personal recount which is required in the textbook of grade
11 students. I think that the genre-based approach may be effectively applied to
teach my students, who have been rarely exposed to authentic writing, to create
better personal recounts.
IV. LITERATURE REVIEW
Teaching and learning writing has been challenging English as Foreign
Language (EFL) teachers and learners. This skill is still considered to be the most
onerous and demanding out of the four. In spite of those permanent problems,
there are ways to refine the teaching of the skill to help language students better

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their wording and writing. Over the last 20 years, much of the teaching of writing
that occurs in the EFL classroom has been dominated by product and process
approaches. On the other hand, genre approach also became quite popular in the
1980s, yet it did not gain many supporters until the beginning of the last decade.
It was noted that student writers could benefit from studying different types of
written texts. Although the literature exposes us to some different approaches and
various genres, this review is concentrated in the use of genre-based approach to
teach personal recount.
Genre approach is still a controversial issue though it is never a dull one.
According to Kay and Dudley-Evans (1998 p.310), genre approach enables
students to improve their writing skill and produce the right text that suits their
intended goal of communication. It also helps expose them to the knowledge of

the surrounding world so that they can take part in it. Being provided with
models, learners are able to be unbridled from the fears of writing. Furthermore,
the approach empowers them to comment on the effectiveness of their products.
After analyzing and comparing the three approaches, Badger and White
(2000 p.155-157) found that genre approach has been criticized as it undervalues
the processes needed to produce a text and sees learners as largely passive.
However, they strongly agreed that the approach emphasizes that writing happens
in a social context whose heart is the purpose. It was noted that learning can take
place through imitation and analysis. Students are encouraged to explore different
samples of a text type to comprehend the rules, features and the structure in order
that they improve their ability to create their own writing.
Up to the present, many studies have been carried out inside and outside
Viet Nam which are related to the use of genre-based approach in teaching text
types, including recount. Sidaway (2006) found that students’ writing often goes
wrong because they are not familiar with generic structure of genres. While
analyzing genres used by her students in their writing, Gwee (1990, cited in
Chandrika, 2001) suggested that generic structures ought to be taught; then
confirmed that when learners catch on with narrative and recount genres, they

Prepared by: Le Hong Phong - Mai Anh Tuan High School


will pay more attention to the required linguistic skills. It was shown by
Chandrika (2001) that teaching using genre-based approach positively affects the
recount writing of students. By comparing the pre and post tests, she found that
88.6% of the students’ writing got better after the treatment period. The average
percentage score rose by 15% and the students had better apprehension of the
features which were examined.
In the light of the literature reviewed above, this research is aimed at
investigating whether teaching with genre-based approach positively impacts the

personal recount writing of students in Mai Anh Tuan High School, Nga Son.
V. METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH SCHEDULE
1. Independent and Dependent Variables

The use of
genre-based
approach

To help
students write
better personal
recount

Independent variable

Dependent variable

Teacher uses genre approach to
teach students to write personal
recounts

Students’ improvement in
writing personal recounts. This
is measured by pre-test and
post-tests.

2. Research design
This study is designed to discover if the genre-based approach would
positively affect students’ writing and how it does so. One class of grade 11
students are given writing instruction using the genre approach. Pre and post tests

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are delivered to assess any change in personal account writing performance as a
result of the use of the new method. A questionnaire is administered to find out
whether the approach impact students’ feeling about composing personal recounts
based on the genre approach.
Research questions

Research

Subjects

instruments

Tools of
analysis

1. What difficulties do

- Teacher’s

- Grade 11

- Critical

grade 11 students in

lesson plans

students

Discourse

Mai Anh Tuan High

- Writing pre-test

- Age: 17

Analysis

- English

- Mean

ability: pre-

- Frequency

intermediate

count

School face in writing
personal recount?

- Writing post-test

2. To what extent does
teaching with genre-

- Teacher’s diary

- School:

based approach help

- Student

Mai Anh Tuan

the students improve

questionnaire

- Sample size:

their personal recount

2 classes ( 84

writing?

students)

3. How do the students
feel about the use of
genre-based approach

in writing personal
recount?

3. Data collection procedure
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- Percentage


The data collection procedure is indicated in the following flow chart.
Pre-intermediate
grade 11
students

Writing Pre-test

Student
questionnaire

The use of genre
approach

Writing post-test 1

The use of genre
approach

Writing post-test 2

Comparing the results of

the pre-test and 2 post-tests

Student
questionnaire

3.1. Selection of subjects
This study is carried out in Mai Anh Tuan high School with two classes of
grade 11 students. Most of them are interested in learning English, especially
writing because of their love for writing diaries, letters, emailing, and so on.
Furthermore, the current English Syllabus requires them to learn to write personal
recounts. However, their writing ability is still at a low level, and their prior test

Prepared by: Le Hong Phong - Mai Anh Tuan High School


scores were below teacher’s expectation. My students often make mistakes in
using vocabulary, sentence structures and verb tenses. Besides, some of them
cannot identify the text type, particularly the structure and language features of a
personal recount.
3.2. Lesson plans
During the course of the research, six lesson plans will be designed based
on the genre-based approach. They will be utilized to teach students to compose
personal recount essays. A lesson plan includes 4 stages such as Building the
field, Modeling, Joint construction and Independent Writing. Each of the stages
will be taught in a 45-minute class.
+ Building the field.
- Teacher introduces the topic by asking questions, showing a video clip,
playing a

recording of it, etc.

- Students are familiarized with the subject matter by doing some preactivities

(expanding headlines, adding detail, using emotive language, etc.)

+ Modeling
In this stage, teacher designs and provides a detailed scaffold for the text
type,
personal recount by:
- explicitly introducing a model text.
- identifying how the text is structured (3 parts: Introduction, Sequence of
events,

conclusion)

- identifying what “language features” should be included.
- identifying the function of each part of the recount.
+ Joint Construction
Before writing independently, students are asked to participating in group
writing. The class is divided into groups of 5 or 6 to construct texts that are
similar to the model based on the topic given. The teacher walks around to help
the groups by making suggestions or correcting their mistakes.
+ Independent Writing

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Students are asked to independently write their own essays based on one of
the topics given by the teacher.
3.3. The writing tests

The research will design one pre-test and two post-tests, which are used for
different purposes. Students will take the pre-test 5 days before the actual use of
the genre-based approach in teaching personal recounts. Each of them will be
asked to write an essay about 150 words to tell about his or her happiest
experience. The results of this placement test will be used for data analysis. After
3 weeks of using the new method, the first post-test will be delivered to the
students. They will write about their most embarrassing experiences. The second
post-test will be given at the end of the treatment period. The students will be
asked to produce personal recounts about their unforgettable experiences. The
researcher will mark the test papers and make a comparison between the scores of
the pre and post tests to see if the new treatment positively impact the students’
personal recount writing.
3.4. Student questionnaire
The questionnaire will be used to explore the students’ feelings about the
use of genre-based approach in teaching writing personal recounts. This
questionnaire consists of 11 items which are related to students’ knowledge,
performance and attitude. There are some forms of statements with a 5-point
Likert scale, some Yes-No questions and some open-ended ones. The
questionnaire is not only delivered at the beginning but also the end of the
treatment period, so that the researcher can discover whether there are changes in
students’ attitude or not.
3.5. Teacher’s diary
The strength and weakness of each lesson plan will be taken notes after the
lecture is conducted. This activity will let the researcher know what he has done
well and what needs correcting and adding to make the following lessons more
effective. In addition, the researcher will keep writing in the diary about the
students’ feeling about the application of the new approach in teaching writing

Prepared by: Le Hong Phong - Mai Anh Tuan High School

personal recounts. The progress of the students will also be recorded frequently in
the teacher’s diary.
4. Data analysis
4.1. Quantitative method
After marking the students’ writing tests, the researcher will have the
scores analysed by using a counting method called Frequency Count and The
mean. The results will then be reported in a table as frequencies and percentages.
This quantitative will also be utilized to deal with the responses to the closeended questions. From these the researcher can have a general view on students’
prior ability and their improvement after applying the genre approach. They will
also help the researcher make sense of the changes in the students’ attitude
towards the use of the new method.
4.2. Qualitative method
Critical Discourse Analysis will be used to analyze students’ test papers,
teacher’s lesson plans, open-ended questions and teacher’s diary. This analysis
will help the researcher identify the problems the students face as well as their
proficiency level. It will also help the researcher with an understanding of his
students’ progress and attitude towards the genre approach used in teaching
personal recount writing.
5. Research schedule
Number
1

Activities
Choose the subjects
Design a placement test

Date to carry out
.October, 2018 – week 1

2

Design a questionnaire
Deliver the test and mark test .October, 2018 – week 2

3

papers
Deliver the questionnaire

4
5

and get the responses.
Design lesson plans
.October, 2018 – week 4
Teach writing recounts using .November, 2018:

.October, 2018 – week 3

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6
7

genre approach
from week 1 – week 3
Design and deliver post-test 1
.November, 2018: week 4

Mark test papers and give .December, 2018: week 1

8

comments
Teach writing recounts using .February, 2019:

9

genre approach
Design and deliver post-test 2

from week 2 – week 4
.March, 2019: week 1

10

.Mark test papers

.April, 2019: week 2

11
12

.Deliver the questionnaire
.Data analysis
.December, 2010: week 3
.Write a report with conclusion .December, 2010: week 4

VI. EXPECTED FINDINGS

The genre approach is quite unfamiliar to my colleagues and students.
Therefore, they may not support me or may refuse to apply it in teaching writing.
Besides, most of the tests do not require students to write essays, so they might
not be interested in the use of the new approach.
However, with the detailed schedule and procedure above, the researcher hopes
that the Action Research will result in positive changes in students’ personal
recount writing. They can follow the correct structure, the language features as
well as selectively use vocabulary and verb tenses. The new method will probably
make the students feel more confident and more interested in writing recounts.
That may help them better their ability to do written tests.

VII. CONCLUSION
In this proposal, the researcher has identified the research problem,
reviewed the literature, planned the data collection procedure and research
schedule, and anticipated some positive results as well as challenges. The
researcher is going to implement the research plan

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It is hoped that the research’s findings will help to improve the teaching
and learning writing, especially writing personal recounts in my school.
Xác nhận của hiệu trưởng
trường THPT Mai Anh Tuấn

Thanh hóa, ngày 22 tháng 05 năm 2019
Tôi xin cam đoan đây là SKKN
của mình viết, không sao chéo
nội dung của người khác.
Người viết SKKN

Lê Hồng Phong

REFERENCES
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Anderson, K. & Anderson, M. (1995). Text Types in English. Australia:
Macmillan Education.
2. Badger, R. & White, G. (2000). A Process Genre Approach to Teaching
Writing.

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ELT Journal, 54, 153-160.
3. Chandrika, G. (2001). Teaching The Recount Genre Using The Genre Based
Approach.
SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.
4. Cope, B. & Kalantzis, M. (Eds.). (1993). The Powers of Literacy: A Genre
Approach
to Teaching Writing. Pittsburgh, PA: University Pittsburgh Press
5. Gwee, S. (1997). Teaching The Recount Genre Using The Genre Approach.
A Project Presented to SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.
6. Kay, H. & Dudley-Evans, T. (1998). Genre: What Teachers Think.
ELT Journal, 52, 308-313.
7. McNiff, J. & Whitehead, J. (2005). Action Research For Teachers.
London: David Fulton.
8. Sidaway, R. (2006). The Genre-Based Approach to Teaching [Online].
Available: />9. The text book of English 11.

APPENDICES
QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Do you like writing compositions of the personal recount (e.g. diaries, letters, etc.)?
Very much
Much
A little
Not at all
- Give reasons:
………………………………………………………………………………

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2. How do you rate your ability to write personal recount essays?
Very good
Good
Average
Bad
Very bad
3. How important are the following for improving your writing?
Very
Importan Not very
Not
importan
t
importan importan
t
t
t

A Learn the grammar terms
(e.g. nouns, verbs,
adjectives, clauses, etc)
B Learn to use synonyms and
antonyms
C Learn the language features
(e.g. tenses, transition
signals, etc)
D Be exposed to different
model texts
E Learn to analyze texts
F Do a lot of grammar
correction
4. Which of the following writing tasks do you prefer? Tick () the appropriate
boxes (you can choose as many as you want).
Writing about a free topic without clues given.
Following a given model.
Writing a composition with a series of pictures and key words/ phrases given.

Writing a composition with words/ phrases provided.
In questions 5 – 7, tick () the column with the heading that best summarizes
your reaction to each statement.
Strongly
Agree
Not
Disagree
Strongly
Statements
agree

5

6

7

sure

Before I start writing, I should
take time to think about who
my writing may be intended
for.
Before I start writing, I should
ask myself what my piece of
writing is expected to do?
Before I start writing, I should
be sure that what are the

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disagree


structure and language features
of the expected writing.
8. How many parts can a typical piece of writing of the personal recount be
divided into?
What are they?
………………………………………………………………………………
9. Are you able to identify these parts in a model essay?

Yes
No
10. During the modeling stage, I comment on:
always
usually seldom
never
A The purpose of the writer
B The main idea of the model
C The structure and language
features
11. Are you confident about writing personal recount essays?
Very confident
Not very confident
A little confident
Not confident
Give reasons:
………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………

Đề tài nghiên cứu khoa học, Sáng kiến kinh nghiệmcua cá nhân tôi

Tên đề tài Sáng kiến

Năm

Xếp Số, ngày, tháng, năm của

cấp

loại quyết định công nhận, cơ

quan ban hành QĐ

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Thiết kế bài dạy tiếng Anh bằng phần

2010

B

mềnmPowerpoint

Số 12, ngày 5/1/2010 –
Giám đốc sở GD&ĐT

Một số cách sử dụng hiệu quả Classroom Enghlish 2011

B

Thanh hóa
Số 539, ngày 18/10/2011

trong giờ học Tiếng Anh

– Giám đốc sở GD&ĐT

Một số phương pháp sử dụng hoạt động nhóm

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Số 871, ngày 18/12/2012 –

2012

B

trong giời học Tiếng Anh

Giám đốc sở GD&ĐT

Mốt bài tập giúp học sinh nhớ cách dùng câu điều 2013

B

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Hiệu trưởng trường THPT

kiện lớp 11

Mai Anh Tuấn

Using of the pic tures to improve my grade 11

2015

B

students’s listening comprehension
Using cooperative learning to motivate the 10

Số 988, ngày 3/11/2015 –
Giám đốc sở GD&ĐT

th

2016

B

Thanh hóa
Số 972, ngày 24/11/2016 –

form students at Mai Anh Tuan high school.

Giám đốc sở GD&ĐT

Some ways teaching listening grade 12th

Thanh hóa
Hiệu trưởng trường THPT

2017

B

at Mai Anh Tuan high school

Mai Anh Tuấn

Using the word formation to develop vocablary for 2018

the grade 11 gifted students at
Mai Anh Tuan high school

A

TO HELP GRADE 11 STUDENTS IN MAI ANH 2019
TUAN HIGH SCHOOL
WRITE BETTER PERSONAL RECOUNT
USING THE GENRE-BASED APPROACH

A

Đang gửi
hội đồng khoa học ngành.
Đang gửi
hội đồng khoa học ngành.

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