Vai trò của chiến lược tự phản hồi của giáo viên đối với kết quả thi viết của học sinh tại một trung tâm anh ngữ tại hà nội ling

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES &INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************

LÊ THỊ NHÀN

THE EFFECT OF TEACHERS’ SELF-REFLECTION
ON LEARNERS’ WRITING ACHIEVEMENT AT AN
ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTER IN HANOI
(VAI TRÒ CỦA CHIẾN LƯỢC TỰ PHẢN HỒI CỦA GIÁO VIÊN
ĐỐI VỚI KẾT QUẢ THI VIẾT CỦA HỌC SINH TẠI MỘT
TRUNG TÂM ANH NGỮ TẠI HÀ NỘI )

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 140 111

Hanoi – 2014


VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************

LÊ THỊ NHÀN

THE EFFECT OF TEACHERS’ SELF-REFLECTION
ON LEARNERS’ WRITING ACHIEVEMENT AT AN

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTER IN HANOI
(VAI TRÒ CỦA CHIẾN LƯỢC TỰ PHẢN HỒI CỦA GIÁO VIÊN
ĐỐI VỚI KẾT QUẢ THI VIẾT CỦA HỌC SINH TẠI MỘT
TRUNG TÂM ANH NGỮ TẠI HÀ NỘI )

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 140 111
Supervisor: Tô Thị Thu Hương, PhD

Hanoi - 2014


DECLARATION

I, Lê Thị Nhàn, declare that the thesis entitled “The effect of teachers’ selfreflection on learners’ writing achievement at an English language center in Hanoi”
reports the result of the study conducted by myself. The minor thesis is submitted to
the Faculty of Post-graduate studies, ULIS, Hanoi for the Degree of Master in
TESOL. It has not been published anywhere.
Hanoi, September 15th, 2014

Lê Thị Nhàn

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In the first place, I would like to send my sincere thankfulness to my
supervisor – Ms. To Thi Thu Huong for all her valuable guidance, helpful advices,

recommendation, and encouragement during the time I tried to complete this minor
thesis. Without her, I would not have followed the right direction for the
accomplishment of this research.
Secondly, I would like to express my gratitude to all those who gave me the
possibility to complete this thesis. I want to thank Wider World Language Center
for giving me permission to work with their students and to do the necessary
research work in their office. I have furthermore to thank all the students of Wider
World Language Center for their stimulating participations and valuable hints.
Thirdly, I would like to thank all the teachers of Post-Graduate Faculty for
their valuable lectures which lay the foundation for my minor thesis.
Last but not least, I would like to express my biggest love and thankfulness
to my family for their unconditional contributions during my thesis production. It
was my parents who gave me the will to continue this challenging work.

ii


ABSTRACT
The concept of teachers’ self-reflection refers to the extent to which teachers
contemplate and reflect on their teaching experience in the classroom in order to
improve their teaching skills. This study seeks to explore the effect of teacher’s selfreflection on the learners’ writing achievement at a language center. The main
objectives were to (1) examine whether teacher’s self-reflection have any effect on
the students’ writing achievement and (2) to what extent this innovative teaching
strategy have had an impact on students’ writing skills. In order to reach these
objectives, the action research was conducted on 15 EFL learners at Wider World
language Center. The effectiveness of the program was investigated through the
comparison of students’ pre-test and post-test scores, and analysis of teacher’s
diary. The results of the study indicated that teacher’s self-reflection do have
facilitating effect on students’ writing achievement. The findings also revealed that
the attitudes of students towards learning English writing were more positive. On

this basis, the study recommended some implications for teaching and directions for
further research with reference to the context of teaching English writing at
language centers in Vietnam.

iii


TABLE OF CONTENT
DECLARATION ............................................................................................ ..i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................ .ii
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................... .iii
TABLE OF CONTENT........................................................................................iv
ABBREVIATIONS..............................................................................................vii
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES…………………………………………..viii
PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale for the study ................................................................................... ..1
2. Aims and objectives of the study ................................................................... ..2
3. Research questions ........................................................................................ ..2
4. Scope of the study ......................................................................................... ..3
5. Significance of the research ........................................................................... ..3
6. Method of the study ....................................................................................... ..4
7. Design of the research ................................................................................... ..4
PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 An overview of teaching writing .................................................................. ..6
1.1.1. Role of writing and teaching writing................................................... ..6
1.1.2. Approaches to teaching writing ......................................................... ..7
1.2. An overview of reflection ........................................................................... ..8
1.2.1. Definition of reflection ....................................................................... ..8
1.2.2. Importance of reflection ..................................................................... ..9

1.2.3 Models/frameworks of reflection ......................................................... 10
1.3. Related studies ............................................................................................ 12
CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY
2.1. Rationale for action research design............................................................ 15
2.2. Background of the study ............................................................................. 16

iv


2.2.1. Setting………………………............ …… ......................................... 16
2.2.2. Participants………………………..... ................................................. 16
2.2.3. The English program and the writing component…………………..... 17
2.3. Data collection instruments ......................................................................... 18
2.3.1. Writing tests………………………... ................................................. 18
2.3.2. Teacher’s diary ................................................................................... 19
2.3.3. Students’ journal ................................................................................ 19
2.3.4. Students’ writing products and portfolios ........................................... 19
2.4. Implementation of the action research......................................................... 20
2.5. Data analysis procedure .............................................................................. 23
CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
3.1. Findings ...................................................................................................... 24
3.1.1. The results of students’ pre-tests and post-tests………………... ........ 24
3.1.2. The results of teacher’s diary………………………... ........................ 27
3.2. Discussion ................................................................................................. 33
3.2.1. Research question 1………………………... ...................................... 33
3.2.2. Research question 2………………………... ...................................... 34
3.3. Pedagogical implications ........................................................................... 36
PART C: CONCLUSION
1. Summary of the study .................................................................................... 38
2. Limitations of the study ................................................................................. 39

3. Recommendations for further studies............................................................. 40
REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 42
APPENDICES ................................................................................................. ..I
Appendix 1: Checklist of writing tasks in Energy 1 ........................................... ..I
Appendix 2: Pre-test .......................................................................................... .II
Appendix 3: Post-test ........................................................................................ III
Appendix 4: Teacher’s diary .............................................................................. IV
Appendix5: Students’ journal.................................................................................VI

v


Appendix 6: Checklist of grading rubric for writing test……………………….VIII
Appendix 7: Students’ writing pre-test scores.........................................................X
Appendix8: Students’ writing post-test scores.......................................................XI
Appendix9: Students’ writing sample (before the intervention).........................,.XII
Appendix10: Students’ writing sample (after the intervention)...........................XIV
Appendix11: Teacher’s diary sample...................................................................XVI
Appendix12: Students’ journal sample...............................................................XXII

vi


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL

English as a foreign language

TEFL

Teaching English as a foreign language

TESL

Teaching English as a second language

WWLC

Wider World language center

vii


LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 1

Comparison on central tendency in students’ pre-test and post-test

25

Table 2

Comparison on variance in students’ pre-test and post-test

26

Table 3

Comparison on standard deviation in students’ pre-test and post-test

26

Table 4

Students’ writing performance in the pre-test

28

Table 5

Students’ writing performance in the post-test

30

Figure 1

Comparison on distribution of students’ pre-test and post-test scores

24

viii


PART A: INTRODUCTION
This very first chapter of the thesis is to introduce the rationale for the study, the aim
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, the
significance of the study, an overview of the methods employed to conduct the
research as well as the design of the study.

1 Rationale for the study
EFL teaching theories and methods have been explored for a long time. Thanks to the
development of psychology and pedagogy, many teaching methods have influenced
EFL teaching, such as immersion, task-based, content-based, project-based, which
could be classified into three major categories of language-centered, student-centered
and learning- centered. In the 21st century, EFL teaching methods began to be doubted
as some linguists held that there should not be the most effective method. A trend of
anti-method is spread which brought about the approaching of the post-method era.
Famous linguist Kumaravadivelu proposed the post method pedagogy with his macro
strategies’ theory in the early 21st century, with corresponding EFL teaching theories
and curriculum reform as a result.
The post - method era in language teaching is characterized with a movement away
from fixed methodological packages for teaching language toward a concern with
teachers’ professional expertise, growth, wisdom, experience, learners’ needs, the
context of teaching, and the political conditions of the environment in which teaching
takes place (Prabhu, 1990; Kumaravadivelu, 2001; Richards, 2002).This is an
indication of the importance of teachers’ professional development in recent years
(Harmer, 2001, cited in Al-Hashmi, 2004). Also of importance is teachers’ ability to go
beyond existing norms and taken for granted habits and their ability to practice
innovative ideas. One way for teachers to develop professionally is to use reflection as
an indispensable part of their practice (Calderhead & Gates, 1993).

1


A reflection professional development project involves supporting teachers to reflect
on aspects of their practice in order to understand it better and then to try out
improvements. One popular approach is action research, in which teachers select a
focus for research that is of particular importance for them, such as an issue in teaching
and learning that they have found to be problematic, or a new challenge that they are

facing. The teachers then reflect on the issue they have chosen, and gather information
from various sources, develop some course of action to address it. As they try out their
planned action in practice, they observe the effects carefully, and then adjust, refine or
otherwise change their innovation before trying it out again, and so on in a cycle of
action, reflection and refinement. Through this cycle of reflection and action, teachers
move towards an improvement in their practice in a way that is relevant to their context
and founded on careful reflection and discussion.
The connection between reflection and development of teacher’s skills and student’s
improvement is documented in international literature. There is, however, no known
local research in the context of Vietnamese English language centers examines this
area. This paper contributes to filling this research gap by reporting on a study which
seeks to understand how teaching reflectively aid in improving students’ English
writing achievement at Wider World Language Center (WWLC) in Hanoi.
2. Aim and objective of the study
The aim of this study is finding the suitable method to improve the English writing
achievement of students at WWLC. Within this purpose, the central objective of this
study is to examine the effectiveness of teacher’s self- reflection on improving the
students’ English writing achievement as measured by the pre-test and post-test.
3. Research questions
In order to achieve the research objective, the study was designed to find out the
answers to the following questions:

2


1. Does teacher’s self-reflection have any effect on the English writing
achievement of students at Wider World Language Center?
2. To what extend does the application of teacher’s self-reflection improve
students’ English writing achievement at the center?
4. Scope of the study

The research was conducted on 15 students at WWLC. Regarding its scope, the
research was only aimed at justifying the effect of teacher’s self- reflection on the
students’ English writing skill. Other aspects of English learning would not be
investigated due to the relevant constraints of a minor thesis.
Moreover, this research involves with the relationship between teacher’s selfreflection and students’ English writing achievement in a small scale with the young
students of a center in Hanoi. The result of this research, therefore, can be generalized
in order to find the better pedagogical innovation in teaching at this center. Although it
is conducted in a small scale, it might be considered as a part of a big picture about
language teaching in post method era and can be a basis for further studies.
5. Significance of the study
There is unknown quote that “if you always do what you always did, then you always
get what you always got”. This quote illustrates the necessity for practitioners in any
environment to consider how best to refresh their practice, to get better at what they do,
to benefit from good practice that they may have seen in others, or to avoid aspects of
their own practice that students or others have told them needs correction.
This paper contributes as introducing the use of reflection as a practical means of
improving the quality of teacher’s teaching and contributing to their future professional
lives.
Moreover, in the context of Vietnam the number of studies on the development of
young learner teaching method is still limited; this study therefore contributes a small
role in filling this gap especially in the context of an English language center.

3


6. Methods of the study
The methodological approach employed in this study is an action research, with the use
of a number of data collection instruments, namely students’ English writing tests,
teacher’s diary, students’ journal and students’ portfolios. Action research has proved
to be the best choice for this study because the study was aimed at improving the

students’ writing skill within a certain context. The combination of different
instruments used in this research would help to gain reliable data and help the
researcher gain useful insights into the problems that the students were having.
Data were collected by means of two sets of English writing tests in pre –, post –
intervention stages and teacher’s diary. The results of the pre-test and post-test helped
to identify the changes in the students’ English writing achievement before and after
the treatment, i.e. the use of self-reflection in teaching English writing. Other sources
of data come from students’ writing portfolios, teacher’s diary and students’ journal
after each lesson contributed to the investigation of any changes in students’ attitude
after the intervention.
7. Design of the study
The study is divided into three parts: the Introduction, the Development, and the
Conclusion
Part A gives an overview of the study with the rationale for the research, the aim and
objective, the research questions, and the significances of the study. It also narrows the
scope, presents the research methods and outlines the content of the study.
Part B is the Development which is divided into 3 chapters:
Chapter I presents the literature review relevant to the study including theoretical
background of writing and reflective teaching.
Chapter II describes in details the research methods used in the study with the
necessary components before supplying information about the procedures of collecting
the data.

4


Chapter III presents the results, discusses the findings of the collected data and
provides some pedagogical implications.
Part C is the conclusion, summarizes the key issues in the study, points out the
limitations and provides some suggestions for further study.

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.

5


PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter gives an overview of relevant literature and researches that deal with
teaching writing skill and reflection.
1.1 An overview of teaching writing
1.1.1 Role of writing and teaching writing
As defined by Byrne (1988) writing is much more than the production of graphic
symbols, just as speech is more than the production of sounds because the symbols
have to be arranged, according to certain conventions, to form words, and words have
to be arranged to form sentences, then the sentences have been put in order and linked
together to form a coherent whole.
Writing is also defined as a social process by Candlin and Hyland (1999, p.107). They
stated that “Writing is, therefore, an engagement in a social process, where the
production of texts reflects methodologies, arguments and rhetorical strategies
constructed to engage colleagues and persuade them of the claims that are made”.
In teaching a language, writing is considered one of the four macro-language skills
(speaking, listening, reading and writing) that a learner is expected to master. Writing
is foundational to success in academics, in the work place and in the global economy.
In an increasingly demanding world of literacy, the importance of ensuring students’
proficiency in writing can never be overemphasized. In light of this, teaching learners
to write well should be top priority of a worthwhile education system.
Raimes (1983, p.3) thinks there is “….an additional and very important reason: writing
helps our students learn.” She shows three ways in which teaching writing can help

students in their learning:
-

First, writing reinforces the grammatical structures, idioms and vocabulary that
we have been teaching our students.

6


-

Second, when our students write, they also have a chance to be adventurous
with the language, to go beyond that they have just learned to say, to take risks.

-

Thirdly, when they write, they necessarily become very involved with the new
language, the effort to express ideas and the constant use of eye, hand and brain
is a unique way to reinforce learning.

Writing is a productive skill, so it is writing that provides students with a chance to put
language into use and practice communicative skills at the same time. Through the act
of writing, students will realize what they are already good at and what they still need
to learn to become a better and more effective writer.
With all the roles mentioned above, writing really becomes an integral part in almost
every language syllabus from elementary to tertiary level.
1.1.2 Approaches to teaching writing
Up to dates, there are several approaches to teaching writing in the classroom.
According to Raimes (1983, pp. 237-260), there are 3 principal ways of approaching
the task of teaching writing: focusing on form, focusing on the writer and focusing on

the reader. The first perspective can be found in traditional, text-based approach or
product approach. Teachers who adopt this approach often present authoritative 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). The second approach
which is called “process approach” emerges in part as a reaction against the tradition of
form- focus. 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 cannot be successful.
From the analysis and the comparison of the approaches, it is undeniable that each
approach has its own strengths and weaknesses. In the context of students at WWLC
the teacher applied all three approaches to teach writing. The product approach seem to

7


be a good choice because the target participants are students at the age of 10 and 11,
they are the beginners at writing; therefore, they need the assistance of the teacher to
guide them how to write a good piece of writing. In addition, the reflection that the
researcher used to intervene is an application of process approach where the researcher
focused on the process to help students achieve good writing skills. Furthermore, the
genre approach is also used to help students be familiar with different type of writing
tasks, to different audiences.
1.2. An overview of reflection
1.2.1 Definition
When it comes to the notion of reflection, John Dewey is often considered to be the
originator of this concept who defines this method as an ‘active, persistent, and careful
consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds
that support it, and the further conclusions to which it tends...’(1933, p. 9, cited in Jay
and Johnson, 2002, p. 74). From Dewey’s perspective, when teachers are confronted

with some teaching situations, they act either in routine or reflective ways. Teachers
who act routinely accept the circumstances without questioning, however, the teachers
who have a reflective stance rather than following habitual ways teach on the basis of
reasoned principles. The reflective teachers think about the problems in their own
teaching practice and ponder how those problems are related to their educational and
social contexts.
According to Hoover (1994) reflection “is a carefully planned set of experiences that
foster sensitivity to ways of looking at and talking about previously unarticulated
beliefs concerning teaching” (p. 84, cited in Farrell, 2001, p. 36). Hoover seems to
believe that reflection is a systematic practice that can be learned from the past
experiences one has had (Farrell, 2001). Hoover’s understanding of reflection is very
much similar to that of Gebhard who believes that “Reflection includes thoughtful
persistent consideration of beliefs or practices” (Gebhard, 2005, p.4).

8


Boud, Keogh and Walker (1985, p.19) view reflection as ‘intellectual and affective
abilities, in which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to achieve
new understandings and appreciations. Teachers generally reflect on their teaching and
students’ learning, how effective their instructional decisions are, approaches to
teaching, improving practice and cognitive awareness of their reflective processes
(McAlpine, Weston, Berhiaume & Fairbank, 2004).
From these above definitions of term, the researcher of this study recognized that a
common feature of the reflection is the questioning of ‘self’, that is, one’s belief,
values, assumptions, context and goals in relation to such actions, events, or decisions.
Therefore, the term “self-reflection” in this study would be referred to “reflection”
which was based on the definition of Hubball, Collins and Pratt (2005). These authors
defined reflection as “the thoughtful consideration and questioning of what we do,
what works and what doesn’t, and what premises and rationales underlie our teaching

and that of others” (p.60). Reflection begins with one’s willingness to question his/her
practice, develops with observing students, identifying their needs and ends with
action, i.e., in this context, adapting his/her teaching style to match students’ learning
styles.
1.2.2 Importance of reflection
There are many reasons for teachers to use reflection in their teaching. At present
context, classroom represents increasing diversity among students, a teacher therefore,
has to accommodate and adjust to this greater range of differences in ethnicity,
socioeconomic status, developmental levels, motivation to learn, and achievement.
Being responsive to this vast array of students’ needs requires teachers who are
reflective. Engaging in reflection helps teachers recognize behaviors and practices
which impede their potential for tolerance and acceptance - the vital elements for
meeting the needs of all students in a diverse society moving toward a global
community.

9


According to Farrell (2001), with reflection, teachers would recall, consider, and
evaluate their teaching experiences as a means of improving future ones. Elder and
Paul (1994), and Halpern (1996) in addition, point out that reflective teachers would
think critically, which involves the willingness to question, take risks in teaching, try
out new strategies and ideas, seek alternatives, take control of teaching, use higher
order thinking skills and reflect upon their own teaching processes which ultimately
will lead to the enhancement of students’ learning.
In addition, according to Markham (1999), teacher would use their intuition, initiative,
values, and experience during teaching, and exercise judgment about the use of various
teaching and research skills. This process could improve their ability to react and
respond—as they are teaching—to assess, revise, and implement approaches and
activities on the spot. More important, this could aid in encouraging teachers in their

role as autonomous professionals, by encouraging them to take greater responsibilities
for their own professional growth by deepening an awareness of their practice, set
within their unique particular socio-political contexts.
Moreover, students also stood to benefit from reflection. Reflection encourages
teachers to know about their learners and what elements of good practice will develop
effective learning. Teacher need to be able to adapt and adjust content and style to suit
the need of students. This will lead to creative and innovative approaches to classroom
and school situations and problems, and this could eventuate into improved learning
opportunities for students.
1.2.3 Models/frameworks of reflection
As far as the models and frameworks of reflection are concerned, a variety of dominant
models have been mentioned in the literature.
Zeichner and Liston (1996, pp.45-46) proposed a model for reflection which includes
of the following five dimensions: a) rapid reflection which “is likely to be personal and
private … in rapid reflection, teachers reflect immediately and automatically while

10


they are acting,” b) repair which “is still reflection-in-action, but here there is a quick
pause for thought,” c) review which “is interpersonal and collegial, and can happen at
any time during or after the teacher’s work day,” d) research in which “the teachers’
thinking and observation becomes more systematic and sharply focused around
particular issues. It could be regarded as a more systematic reflection-on-action over a
period of time” and e) re-theorizing and research in which “reflection is more abstract
and rigorous than in the other dimensions ... Here, while teachers critically examine
their practical theories, they also consider these theories in light of public academic
theories”.
Another model of reflection is the one given by Van Manen (1991). In his model Van
Manen looks at reflection as a three-dimensional phenomenon. His reflection levels

resemble Schon’s reflective in action which occurs when teacher interact with students
in class and reflective on action which occurs after the fact. His reflection for action, or
‘anticipatory reflection,’ “allows a teacher to plan, decide a course of action, and
anticipate future consequences of the actions”.
Stanley (1998) presents a model including five levels. In the first phase, ‘engaging with
reflection,’ he talks about teachers’ awareness of reflection. He believes that “When
basic personal, professional, and contextual factors are stable and teachers are curious
about learning the process of reflecting on their teaching, they can engage with
reflection” (p. 686). In the second phase called ‘thinking reflectively,’ he believes that
reflection can be regarded as an ability that should be learned and mastered during the
teaching process. In this phase, called ‘using reflection,’ he assumes that “When
teachers have understood what reflection is and how to think reflectively, they can use
it as a tool to find and explore the actions that are commensurate with their context. In
the next phase, i.e., ‘sustaining reflection,’ Stanley refers to different problems teachers
confront while trying to practice reflection. And finally in the fifth phase which is

11


‘practicing reflection,’ he refers to the practical aspects of reflective teaching as an
indispensable part of teacher reflectivity.
In 2002, Jay and Johnson proposed a typology for reflection which includes
descriptive, comparative, and critical reflection. Descriptive reflection refers to the
identification, description and recognition of the problem to be reflected on.
Comparative reflection involves “thinking about the matter for reflection from a
number of different frames or perspectives” (p. 78). In this dimension a reflective
teacher tries to know about others’ ideas and checks other alternatives which might
have some discrepancies with his/her own points of view. Critical reflection “involves
teachers looking at all the different perspectives of a situation or problem and at all of
the players involved: teachers, students, the school, and the community” (Farrell, 2004,

p.22). In this dimension of reflection, “By taking in the broader context of schooling,
reflective practitioners come to see themselves as agents of change, capable of
understanding not only what is, but also working to create what should be” (Jay and
Johnson, 2002, p. 79).
1.3 Related studies
Recently, reflection has come to be regarded as an important teacher-related factor in
the field of TEFL/TESL by many researchers. A lot of studies have been carried out to
investigate the impacts of reflection on teacher, students as well as other factors.
McCollum (1997) investigated the effect of providing teachers with a framework for
reflection during an early field experience on pre-service teachers’ practice. Four preservice teachers were instructed to use reflection based on Tsangaridou & O’sullivan’s
(1994) Reflective Framework for Teaching. The results of the study showed that preservice teachers demonstrated the ability to consistently describe, justify, and critique
meaningful events that occurred in the teaching/learning environment. Moreover, the
pre-service teachers found this experience a valuable one. They believed that this early

12


field experience has set a framework and a guideline for their future professional
development.
Kang (2004) investigated in-service teachers' learning through reflection activities in
an in-service training program whose goal was to develop teachers' reflection-inpractice. The findings revealed that reflection assisted teachers to take more control of
their teaching actions, and to find justifications for their unintended actions. The
teachers participating in Kang’s study viewed reflection as a way to change their
teaching practices.
Minott (2009) discussed the relationship between understanding of lesson planning,
implementation, and evaluation—from the perspective of selected teachers in the
Islands—and their use of elements of reflection in these areas. He stressed the
requirement of both pre and in-service teacher education programs to prepare and
enable teachers to develop their ability to adjust lesson planning, implementation, and
evaluation according to school contextual factors which could be achieved via the

application of reflection.
Yesilbursa (2011) conducted a study to identify the characteristics of a group of
Turkish pre-service English Language teachers’ reflective writing. A mixed method
approach was taken in the analysis of their written reflections on a video-recorded
microteaching experience at the end of a campus-based methodology course. The
analyses revealed that most of the reflection was descriptive and focused on the self,
search for reasons behind and alternatives to their practice, and referred to past and
hypothetical future experiences. This study contributes to the knowledge base on the
reflective writing of non-native pre-service English Language teachers and emphasizes
the importance of tapping into reflections early on in pre-service teacher education.
The idea that reflection may be at the center of learning endeavors is also not new.
According to Dewey, reflection is the “hallmark of intelligent action” (1933, p. 17),
enabling effective problem solving to take place and improving the effectiveness of

13


learning. Reflection enables learners to see themselves as actors with different
alternatives. As one learns to anticipate chains of events, strategy corrections are made
in advance of overt action and become part of one's action plan (von Wright 1992). By
providing a link between past and future action, reflection is thought to make possible
the transfer of metacognitive knowledge to new situations.
Ertmer& Newby (1996) believed that reflection serves as the link between
metacognitive knowledge and self-regulation. In an actual learning situation, reflection
allows learners to consider plans made prior to engaging in a task, the assessments and
adjustments made while they work, and the revisions made afterwards. These two
authors also agree with Simons (1993) who states that a learner's reflection on the
process of learning can lead to changes in future processing and increased
metacognitive knowledge about learning.
Driscoll (1994) suggested that reflection may well be essential to cognitive strategy

learning. As a powerful link between thought and action, reflection can supply
information about outcomes and the effectiveness of selected strategies, thus making it
possible for a learner to gain strategy knowledge from specific learning activities.
Even though many educators agree that reflection is an important part of the learning
process, there is little shared evidence of how exactly it might operate to facilitate
learning (Grimmett 1988; Houston, Clift & Pugach1990). To adequately address this
issue, it is necessary to clarify the relationships among reflection and a specific
learning skill. This study served as an evidence of the impacts of teachers’ reflection of
their teaching on their young learners’ English writing skills.
Summary
This chapter has discussed issues concerning writing: roles of writing, and
approaches to teaching writing, the relevant literature about reflection from the
definition, the framework of reflection and related studies to the application of
reflection.

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
In this part, the researcher provides a detailed description of the research methodology.
In other words, the argument for the use of an action research, the context of the study,
the participants, the instruments and the procedure of applying teacher’s self-reflection
activities in improving students’ writing skills will be clearly illustrated.
2.1 Rationale for action research design
As defined by Mills (2003, p.4), action research is
“any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers to gather information
about the ways that their particular school operates how they teach, and how
well their students learn. The information is gathered with the goals of gaining
insight, developing reflective practice, effecting positive changes in the school
environment and on educational practices in generals, and improving student

outcomes.”
Tsui (1993) considers action research a very effective way of helping teachers to reflect
on their teaching and to come up with their own alternatives to improve their practice.
Action research in schools, colleges or universities solves everyday practical problems
experienced by teachers, rather than the “theoretical problems” defined by non –
teaching researchers. It should be carried out by the teachers themselves or by someone
they commission to carry out for them. If the teacher was trained to conduct action
research, he could solve his problems on his own or in collaboration with other
teachers. Moreover, action research is also for a teacher’s professional developments.
He would become a better teacher because he knows how to find out and solve his
problems in teaching on his own. This also showed his dynamic, activeness and
imagination in his teaching job.
To carry out action research in a language classroom Tsui (1993) suggested 5 steps:
Step 1: Identifying problems you wish to solve or an area you wish to improve

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