SKKN discourse competence in teaching writing skill to grade 10 students

THANH HOA EDUCATION AND TRAINING DEPARTMENT

HOANG HOA 2 HIGH SCHOOL

SEMINAR ON METHODOLOGY

DISCOURSE COMPETENCE IN TEACHING WRITING SKILL TO
GRADE 10 STUDENTS

Teacher: Lê Thị Quế
Subject: English

THANH HOA, 2021

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………
PART I. DISCOURSE COMPETENCE: DEFINITIONS AND
IMPORTANT ISSUES
1. Discourse competence……………………………………
2. Cohesion and Coherence..............................................
3. Text……………………………………….
4. Genre………………………………...
PART II. WRITING SKILL IN ENGLISH 10 TEXTBOOK
1. Course requirements…………………………………
2. Suggested preparations……………………………………

2.1. Unit 1. Writing a narrative………………………………
2.2. Unit 2: Filling in a form……………………………………
2.3 Unit 3. Writing about people's background……………..
2.4 Unit 4. Writing a letter of complaint………………
2.5 Unit 5. Writing a set of instructions…………………………
2.6 Unit 6. Writing a confirmation letter…………………
2.7 Unit 7. Writing about advantages and disadvantages of the
mass media………………………………………………..
2.8 Unit 8. Writing an informal letter: giving directions
2.9. Unit 9. Describing information from a table…………….
2.10. Unit 10. Writing a letter of invitation…………………….
2.11. Unit 11. Witing a letter of acceptance or refusal………..
2.12. Unit 12. Writing a profile…………………………………
2.13. Unit 13. Describing a film ( Model Lesson Plan)…………
2.14. Unit 14. Writing an announcement……………………….
2.15. Unit 16. Describing a chart…………………………………
PART III. A MODEL LESSON PLAN
III.1. Writing lesson plan: UNIT 13. FILMS AND CINEMA

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III.2. The results of the lesson plan

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CONCLUSION

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INTRODUCTION

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Since 2006 the new set of English textbooks has been used on the national scale.
The aim of the teaching and learning of English in secondary schools in Vietnam
is to enable students to use English as a means of communication at basic level
in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Among the four skills, productive skills speaking and writing, especially
writing are regarded as the most difficult. It is easily understood because to
produce a perfect piece of writing, even in their mother tongue, learners meet
with a number of challenges: ideas, word use, genre, register, format, spelling,
etc ...... Such difficulties or problems in writing could be solved if the writer
owns a good textual or discourse competence. Therefore, discourse competence
is closely connected with writing lessons, and teaching writing is equivalent to
developing discourse competence in learners. The problem is: Can teachers
develop such a competence in learners? The answer to this question involves
two abilities in the teacher: the first is the teacher himself must own such
discourse competence, the second is the teacher must know how to build such
competence in his students.
Being a teacher of English at a secondary school I am aware that teaching
and learning how to write is of great importance and bears a numerous
challenges to both teachers and learners. Meanwhile, I am convinced that every
teacher should create the aforementioned abilities for himself so as to improve
his writing lessons. During the school year 2020-2021 I have been trying to
deal with this challenge in teaching writing. I assume that this problem in
teaching writing is not merely my own concern. In fact, many teachers from
other schools in the province have come up against many difficulties in their
writing lessons: What is the outline of a profile? What language should be used
in this type of letter? Who can help me with the model writing to the
description of this chart? It seems clearly that it is advisable for every teacher of
English to search for and have necessary materials to teach writing effectively.
Given the aforesaid reasons I am writing this document to share my

teaching experience in teaching writing with those who have the same concern
as mine. The document discusses and deals with the matters of discourse
competence and how to teach writing more effectively. In the boundary of the
school year 2020 -2021, I only focus on writing lessons in textbook English 10.
Speaking lessons in the textbooks 10,11,12 and writing lessons in textbooks
11,12 will be dealt with in the coming school years. The scope of this document
is, therefore, within the writing lessons in 16 units of textbook English 10.
Namely, the document has three parts:
- A brief review of discourse competence. This part can be seen as theory as it
deals with all the theoretical matters mentioned in the document.
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- A detailed examination of writing lessons in textbook English 10 and suggested
preparation for the 16 writing lessons in the textbook
- A model lesson plan and a detailed description of the result of two writing
lessons conducted at classes 10B5 and 10B7 (experimental class), Hoang Hoa
Two High Secondary School.

PART I. DISCOURSE COMPETENCE: DEFINITIONS AND
IMPORTANT ISSUES
1. Discourse competence

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Textual or discourse competence is an aspect of communicative
competence which describes the ability to produce unified written or spoken
discourse that shows coherence and cohesion and which conforms to the norms
of different genres (e.g. a business letter, a scientific essay etc.). Apart from the

ability to produce sentences which are grammatically correct and appropriate to
the situation in which they are being used, learners must also be able to produce
discourse in which successive sentences are linked through rules of discourse or
discourse competence. (Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied
Linguistics, p.113)
From the definition we can see that discourse competence involves the
following matters:
- coherence
- cohesion
- norms of genres
- grammatically correct sentences
- discourse markers or discourse linkers
- rules of discourse
All these matters will appear in each piece of writing whether it is short or
long provided that it serves a communicative purpose. Thus, in each writing
lesson, the teacher must cover all these issues and help his students to produce
such texts that do not miss any requirements. Except for coherence and cohesion
which are defined the same in every case, the other terms can only be defined in
a particular situation and in a specific lesson.
2. Cohesion and Coherence
Cohesion is formal links which exist between sentences, the relationships
that cause texts to cohere or stick together. “ A text has texture and this is what
distinguishes it from something that is not a text” (Halliday, MA. K. & Hasan,
R. (1976). Cohesion in English, London: Longman).
Coherence is the familiar and expected relationships in experience which
we use to connect the meaning of utterances, even when those connections are
not explicitly made. It is content links, that is semantic or rhetorical relationships
that underline texts. Coherence is built upon semantic ties in discourse and can
obtain on the basic of relevance, the common shared knowledge between
participants in a speech event, and how discourse is structured.

3. Text

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“Text is a piece of naturally occurring spoken, written, or signed discourse
identified for purposes of analysis. It is often a language unit with a definable
communicative function, such as a conversation, a poster.” (Crystal,1992, 72).
“Text is a stretch of language interpreted formally, without context.” (Cook,
1989, 156)
- The duty of students is to produce texts to serve particular communicative
purposes set in the textbook. Therefore , the teacher in charge has to help
students to create texts in accordance with the norms identified by the
requirements of the particular lessons.
4. Genre
In discourse analysis, genre is a particular class of speech events which
are considered by the speech community as being of the same type. Examples of
genres are: prayers, sermons, conversations, songs, speeches, poems, letters, and
novels. They have particular and distinctive characteristics.

PART II. WRITING SKILL IN ENGLISH 10 TEXTBOOK
1. Course requirements

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At grade 10, students are expected to use English to write a text of 100120 words in length on a particular topic or to serve a communicative function
basing on either a model writing or suggestions. Examining textbook English
10, we can see that it requires students to produce 16 pieces of writing as
follows:

Unit1. Writing a narrative (Narrative and the past simple, Stages of a
narrative)
- Students are expected to understand the content and the language (the past
simple tense), the outline of the model narrative.
- Students will be able to write a narrative about a hotel fire using prompts.
Unit1. Writing a narrative - Students are expected to understand and fill in a
form with such
essetial information about themselves as name, age,
occupation,nationality, etc.....
Unit 3. Writing about people's background
- Students are expected to write about a person's background basing on a
curriculum vitae
Unit 4. Writing a letter of complaint
- Students are expected to understand the basic outline of a letter of complaint
- Students are expected to write a letter of complaint.
Unit 5. Writing a set of instructions (Sequence connectors, Imperative verbs
form)
- Students will be able to understand the content and the language used in
writing instructions (Sequence connectors and Imperative verbs form).
- Students are expected to write a set of instructions on how to use a TV remote
control using suggestions.
Unit 6. Writing a confirmation letter
- Students are expected to write a confirmation letter using cues.
Unit 7. Writing about advantages and disadvantages of the mass media
- Students will be able to understand the content and the language used to talk
about advantages and disadvantages of television.
- Students will be able to write short sentences about advantages and
disadvantages of the mass media.
- Students will be able to write a paragraph on advantages and disadvantages of
a type of the mass media.

Unit 8. Writing an informal letter: giving directions
- Students are expected to write an informal letter giving directions to a friend
Unit 9. Describing information from a table
- Students will be able to interpret information given in a table and convey the
information in a paragraph.
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Unit 10. Writing a letter of invitation
- Students are expected to write an informal letter of invitation basing on
suggested situation.
Unit 11. Witing a letter of acceptance or refusal
- Students are expected to understand the outline of a letter of acceptance or
refusal.
- Students will be able to write a letter of acceptance or refusal.
Unit 12. Writing a profile
- Students are expected to write about biography of a famous musician.
Unit 13. Describing a film
- Students are expected to write about basic content of a film basing on
suggestions.
Unit 14. Writing an announcement
- Students are expected to write a short announcement about an event related to
sport.
Unit 16. Describing a chart
-Students are expected to describe a simple chart.
2. Suggested preparations
The textbook designs many tasks with the aim of helping students
produce a final product. However, teacher has to prepare more materials for
their students. And this is here the teacher's discourse competence acts. The
teacher should have the following:

- A perfect model product for each type of writing
- A detailed outline of each type of writing
- Ideas, vocabulary, grammar needed for that particular piece of writing
- Genre, register, style for that particular piece of writing
- Anticipation of matters and questions raised by students
- Clear stages for a particular writing lesson
During the school year of 2020-2021 I have prepared neccessary materials for
each writing lesson. The preparations are based on the course requirements, the
suggestions of the textbook and the document on standard knowledge and skills
published by the MOET. Namely:

2.1. Unit 1. Writing a narrative
a. Definition and outline:
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-Narration is story writing. When you write a narrative paragraph or essay, you
write about events in the order that they happened. In other words, you use time
order to organize your sentences.
-An outline of a narration would be like this:
+ Introduction: Introducing the experience
+ Body: background, events in sequence
+ Conclusion: author's opinion, evaluation of the experience
b. Language: the past simple tense, the past continuous, time connectors
c. Time order words and phrases:
Words: first, then, next, finally, afterward, meanwhile, etc .....
Phrases: at first, at exactly 4:00 p.m, after that, after a while, a few minutes later,
etc .....
d. Suggested narrative:
Last year, I spent my summer holidays at a seaside town. The hotel was modern

and comfortable. I had a wonderful holiday until the fire.
It was Saturday evening and everybody was sitting in the discotheque on the
ground floor. It was crowded with people. They were sining and dancing
happily. Suddenly we smelt smoke. Then black smoke began to fill the room.
Everybody started to scream in panic. People ran toward the fire exits. One door
was blocked. Many people began coughing and choking.
Then, just as we thought we had only minutes to live, the fire brigade arrived.
Firemen fought their way into the room and soon everyone was safely out of the
building. Luckily, nobody was seriously hurt. It was the most frightening
experience of my life.
2.2. Unit 2: Filling in a form
a. Definition: An official document containing questions and spaces for
answers
Forms do not usually ask questions, but they ask for information. Thay also ask
you to do certain things such as write in capital letters, block capitals, sign,
delete, put a tick or a cross in a box, etc .......
b. Delete where not applicable: We use a slash to delete the information which
is not applicable to you in a form
c. Sample form:

THE OAK TREE SCHOOL OF ENGLISH ENROLMENT FORM
PLEASE WRITE IN CAPITAL LETTERS
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Mr./Mrs./Miss
Surname:
LE
First name:
QUE

Date of birth:
JUNE 12, 1978
Nationality:
VIETNAMESE
Language(s):
VIETNAMESE, ENGLISH
Address in your country: HOANG HOA, THANH HOA CITY
Occupation:
TEACHER
Reason for learning English: Business/Pleasure/Exams/Others
(If others, please specify)....................................................
How many hours a day do you want to stay at the school? 5 HOURS
What date do you want to start?
JUNE 1, 2021
Delete where not applicable
2.3. Unit 3. Writing about people's background
a. Definitions:
- Background is the details of a person's family, education, experience, etc ....
- Curriculum vitae (CV): a written record of your education and the jobs you
have done, that you send when you are applying for a job.
b. Language in CV: School attended (name of the school you went to) Exam
passed (name of the exam that you passed) Date from (from what date) Date to
(to what date)
c. Language in background: the past simple tense and the simple present tense
- Structures: work as a ......., pass exams in ......, go to/attend .......... school
d. Sample background:
Mr. Brown was born on November 12, 1969 (12th November 1969) in Boston.
He went to Kensington High School and passed exams in English, French and
Mathematics. He worked in a travel agency from June 1991 to December 1998.
And from 1999 to 2002, he worked as a hotel telephonist. He likes music and

dancing.
2.4. Unit 4. Writing a letter of complaint
a. Definition:
A formal letter of complaint is written to complaint about a problem which has
arisen (e.g. faulty merchendise, rude staff, inaccurate information, etc). It should
explain the reasons for the complaint and usually includes a
suggestion/request/demand concerning what should be done. (e.g. refund,
compensation, etc)
b. Language:
Mild or strong language can be used depending on the writer's feelings and the
seriouness of the complaint, but abusive language must never be used.
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e.g. Mild Complaint: I am writing to complaint about a factual error in
yesterday's newspaper.
Strong Complaint: I am writing to express my strong dispproval concerning the
offensive behaviour of an employee at your company.
c. Outline
- Introduction: Paragraph 1: state reason(s) for writing
- Main body: Paragraph(s)2(-3): state complaint(s) with justification
Paragraph(s) 3-(4-5): suggest what should be done
- Conclusion
Final paragraph
Closing remarks
Full name
d. Sample letter
53 Ho Xuan Huong Street
Hanoi-Vietnam
The Director

English for Today Center
731 Van Xuan Street
Hanoi-Vietnam
22nd February, 2021
Dear Sir,
I am writing to complaint about the poor quality of the service at your center.
Everyrhing seems to be worse than what you say in the advertisement.
First of all, you say all the teachers at the centre are native speakers, but in fact
all of them are Vietnamese. You also say that there are no more than 20 students
in a class but my class has over 30 students. Next, you say we can have books
and cassette tapes free of charge, but in fact, we had to pay for them. To make
the matter worse, none of the classrooms are air-conditioned. Finally, what I hate
most about your centre is the time. Classes not only start late but also finish
early.
To solve the problem, I require you to give me a refund. Enclosed is a copy of
the receipt.
I look forward to hearing from you and to getting a quick resolution of this
problem. Please contact me at the above address or by phone at (037) 3961465.
Yours faithfully,
Le Thi Que
2.5. Unit 5. Writing a set of instructions (Sequence connectors, Imperative
verbs form)
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a. Definition:
A detailed information on how to do or use something
b. Language used in writing instructions
Sequence connectors: first, then, next, until, after that .......
Imperative verbs form: lift, press, wait ........

c. Sample set of instructions on how to use a TV remote control
If you want to operate a TV with a remote control, you must make sure that the
cord is plugged in and the main is turned on.
To turn on the TV, press the POWER button.
To select a programme, press the PROGRAMME button.
To watch VTV1, press button number 1.
To watch VTV2, press button number 2.
To watch VTV3, press button number 3.
To watch VTV4, press button number 4.
To adjust the volume, press the VOLUME button up or down.
If you do not want to hear the sound, press the MUTE button.
To turn off the TV, press the POWER button again.
2.6. Unit 6. Writing a confirmation letter
a. Definition
A confirmation letter is correspondence that is sent to confirm an oral
agreement. It can be business or personally ralated. It can also confirm a
reservation, a response to an invitation, receipt of a various iterms or services or
meeting and conference arrangements.
b. Outline
- Opening (Dear ...,)
- Body
+ Restate the event (I'm glad to hear that you are going on a picnic with your
classmates)
+ State the confirmation (Certainly, I will help you .........)
+ State the convenience (Luckily, I'm having a day off on Sunday, so I'm free in
the afternoon)
+ Confirm time and place (I'll be waiting fou you at ..... at .....)
- Closing (Love,.....)
c. Language: informal, future tenses
d. Sample writing

Dear Lan,
I'm glad to hear that you are having a birthday party on Saturday evening.
Certainly, I'll help you to buy two bunches of bananas, three kilos of oranges,
ten mangoes and bring them to your house at 7:00p.m on Saturday evening.
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Luckily, I'm having a day off on Saturday, so I'm free in the afternoon and
evening.
I'll be at your house at 7:00p.m on Saturday evening.
Love,
QUE
2.7. Unit 7. Writing about advantages and disadvantages of the mass media
a. Language used to talk about advantages and disadvantages of television
help/encourage someone to do something (help us to learn, encourage us to
buy.........)
make someone/something +adjective (make things memorable, make us aware
of, make us passive, make people violent......
b. Paragraph
-A paragraph is a group of related sentences that develops one main idea, which
is the topic of the paragraph.
-A paragraph is made up of three kinds of sentences that develop the writer's
main idea, opinion, or feeling about a subject. These sentences are (1) the topic
sentence, (2) supporting sentences, and (3) the concluding sentence. The writer
may add a final comment after the conclusion.
c. A sample paragraph about advantages and disadvantages of a type of the
mass media
As a main type of the mass media , the Internet has a number of advantages and
disadvantages. First, it provides quick access to information and entertainment.
Second, it enlarges people's knowledge and understanding. Finally, it makes life

easier and more enjoyable to all of us. As for disadvantages, the Internet makes
people lazy because we do not have to do anything. Next, some websites on the
Internet contain too much violence. Worst of all, the Internet harms people's
eyes and costs their time and money. The fact is the Internet is neither good nor
bad. The question whether the Internet is useful or harmful depends on the way
we use it.
2.8. Unit 8. Writing an informal letter: giving directions
a. Language used in giving directions
-get out of, -turn right/left, -keep walking, -go over (a bridge), -walk past (a
medical centre), -take the first/second turning.............. on the right/left
- It's the one with ..........................
b. Sample letter
Dear Jim,
I'm very pleased to hear that you have decided to come here for the holiday. I'm
writing to tell you how to get to my house from Roston Railway Station.

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Now, when you come out of the station, turn right. Keep walking for about 5
minutes, you will see a small bridge ahead. Go over the bridge, walk past a
medical centre and a car-park. Then take the first turning on the left. Keep on
until you see a shoe shop. Mine is the first house after the shoe shop, opposite a
souvenir shop. It's the one with a red gate. You can't miss it. I have enclosed a
map so that you can follow my directions easily.
Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Love,
QUE
2.9. Unit 9. Describing information from a table
a. Outline of the description

- Introducing sentence giving general idea about the animal
- Details (range and habitat, size, feeding habits, offspring, life span,
conservation concern)
b. Sample writing
Dolphins are not fish. They are mammals that live in the water. Dolphins are
among the most intelligent animals on Earth. Although they can be found in all
oceans worldwide, dolphins prefer coastal waters and bays. The size of dolphins
varies greatly. The smallest dolphin is just about 50 kg in weight and 1,2 metres
in length while the largest one can weigh up to 8,200 kg and is 10 metres long.
Dolphins are carnivoes and they eat mostly fish. A female dolphin gives birth to
one calf every 2 years after a gestation period of 11 to 12 months. A dolphin can
normally live from 25 to 65 years and some species of dolphins can even live
longer. Dolphin populations are at risk due to the pollution of their habitat and
accidental entrapment in fishing nets.
2.10. Unit 10. Writing a letter of invitation
a. Outline of an informal letter of invitation
- Opening (Dear .....,)
- Body:
+ thanks/previous experience/interesting information
+ present situation/event
+ invitation (including time, places, activities, people involved)
+extend the invitation (bring along family memebers, directions to house ....)
+ remind about confirmation
+ show enthusiasm, expectation, anticipation
- Closing (Love, .......)
b. Language
- Let's + V, - Why don't you + V..... ?, -Would you like +V ..... ? - Do you feel
like + Ving ..... ?, - Can you + V ..... ?, - How about + Ving ..... ?
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- Shall we + V ..... ?, - Are you free ..... ?
c. Sample letter
Dear Lam,
We haven't met since you moved. I miss you a lot. We are both having some
days off between two terms soon. If you haven't made any arragements, why
don't we spend a weekend together?
Do you feel like visiting the forest near my grandmother's home again? It looks
quite different now because very many young trees have been planted at the
Tree-Planting Festivals.
Do come if you find it possible and I'll make all the preparations then.
Give my love to your parents.
Your friend,
QUE
2.11. Unit 11. Witing a letter of acceptance or refusal
a. Outline of a letter of refusal
- Opening: (Dear .....,)
- Body
+ apologies for any dalay in replying (and an excuse)
+ news of yourself (what you have been doing recently)
+ thanks for the invitation
+ polite refusal (and reason)
+ alternative suggestions
- Closing
+ signing off phrase
b. Outline of a letter of acceptance
- Opening: (Dear .....,)
- Body
+ apologies for any dalay in replying (and an excuse)
+ news of yourself (what you have been doing recently)

+ thanks for the invitation
+ polite and sincere acceptance
+ arrangements if any
- Closing
+ signing off phrase
c. Language
- refusal: + I'm afraid I can't come because......., + I'd love to, but ...., + I'm sorry
I can't (come) because .....
- acceptance: +Yes. I'd like/love to., +Yes, that's a great idea., + Yes, I'd be
delighted to.
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- making arragements: +I was wondering if .......
+ Would it be possible for me to ......?
2.12. Unit 12. Writing a profile
a. Definition
A description of sb/sth that gives useful information
b. Language: The past simple tense
c. Sample profile of Van Cao
Van Cao was born on 19 November, 1923 in Nam Dinh into a poor worker
family. He started composing music when he was very young. His first song was
written in 1939 and he quickly became famous. In 1944 he wrote Tien Quan Ca
and it was chosen to become the Vietnam National Anthem. Van Cao's artistic
works include songs, poems, and paintings. Van Cao died on 10 July, 1995 in
Hanoi. Van Cao is known as a very talented musician and highly appreciated by
the Vietnamese people.
2.13. Unit 13. Describing a film ( Model Lesson Plan)
a. Definition
A description is a piece of writing or speech that says what sb/sth is like.

2.14. Unit 14. Writing an announcement
a. Outline of an announcement
+ Name of the announcer
+ The event
+ Details of the event (time, place, price, etc.......)
b. Sample announcement
Hoang Hoa Two High School's football team wishes to announce that the team is
seeking new players for the new football season. Volunteers must be good at
football and are studying at Hoang Hoa Two High School. The first meeting of
volunteers will be at 3 p.m on Saturday, April 15, 2021 at Hoang Hoa Two High
School football field. For any further information, please contact Le Van Nam,
class 10B5 or at phone number 3866036.
2.15. Unit 16. Describing a chart
a. Outline
- Introduction ( what the chart presents/illustrates/shows)
- Body/Description
+ general idea/main points of the chart (what can be seen from the chart)
+the most striking features
+other main features of the chart
- Conclusion (restate the main points) (Note: This part is optional)
b. Sample description of the chart

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The chart shows the number of visitor arrivals to Vietnam from the USA, France
and Australia in 2001 and 2002. It is clear from the chart that the number of
visitors from the three countries in 2002 is higher than that in 2001. According
to the chart, the USA had the biggest number of visitors to Vietnam with
230,470 visitors in 2001 and 259,967 in 2002. France ranked second with

99,700 visitors in 2001 and 111,546 in 2002. Australia had a little fewer visitors
than France although the number of Australian visitors in 2002 to Vietnam
increased by 12,839 people in comparison to that in 2001.

PART III. A MODEL LESSON PLAN
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1. Writing lesson plan
D. WRITING

UNIT 13. FILMS AND CINEMA
Describing films
– Period 85 –

Aims: To provide a writing lesson where:
- Students can describe films they have recently seen or they like best.
- Students develop writing skills.
Materials:
- Tieng Anh 10; pages 137, 138
- Projector
- Handouts
Method: Communicative approach, integrated skills
Language items: - tragic, sink, luxury,liner. voyage, disaster, icerberg, be
engaged
- Verb tense: The present simple tense
Procedure
1. Warm up - - To introduce the topic (5m) (T-class)
- T gives the music of a song.
- Ss guess the name of the song.

- T asks Ss to answer some questions related to the lesson. (appendix 1)
2. Vocabulary (board) - To present new vocabulary (6m) (T-class)
- Pre-teach new vocabulary (tragic, sink luxury, liner, voyage, disaster, iceberg,
be engaged)
- Using pictures to teach vocabulary.
- Students guess the meaning of the new words.
- T feedbacks
- T reads the new words, Ss repeat
Task 1. Reading the description and answering the questions (board)
3. Students read 8 questions and find out key words -To prepare linguistic
materials for students to answer questions (2m) (appendix 2)
4. Ss answer the questions. - To help students to understand the description
- T feedbacks. (appendix 3)
5. T elicits the outline - To help students know the outline.(appendix 4)
- T gives the note: Verb tenses: The present simple tense
6. Ss write the description of films they have recently seen or they like best
following the outline. - To develop writing skill
- T calls on a student to go to the board and write his/her description.
- Other Ss write on their handouts. (appendix 5)-handouts
7. T feedbacks
8. Conclusion
- T summarizes the main points Ss have just learnt in the lesson.

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APPENDIXES
Appendix 1: Warm-up
- The music: My heart will go on.
- Some questions:

+ Do you know which film this song is on?
+ Have you ever seen this film?
+ What is it about?
+ Could you tell us some information about the main characters?
Appendix 2: Questions’ key words
1. What is the name of the film?
2. What kind of film is Titanic?
3. What is it about?
4. Where is it made?
5. What is it based on?
6. Who is/ are the main character(s)?
7. What do you know about the character(s)?
8. Does the film have a happy or a sad ending?
Appendix 3: Key answers
1. The name of the film is Titanic.
2. It is a tragic love story film.
3. It is about the sinking of a luxury liner.
4. It’s made in America.
5. It is based on the true story of Titanic.
6. The main characters are Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater.
7. Jack is a young and generous adventurer.
Jack and Rose fall in love with each other.
8. It has a sad ending.
Appendix 4: Outline
* Introduction:
1. The title of the film:
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- The name of the film is ......................

* Body:
2. The kind of the film:
- It is a ................(cartoon, horror, action,.....) film.
3. Based on:
- The film is based on........................
4. Filming place:
- The film is made in...................
5. The content of the film:
- The film is about...........................
- The film tells us a story about........................
6. The main characters:
- The main characters are..........................
7. The ending of the film:
- The film has a (happy/ sad) ending.
* Conclusion:
8. Give the comment on the film:
- The film makes me + adj....................
- I find it really + adj........................
Appendix 5: Handouts
“Of all the films I have seen, “.....(1)” is the one I like best. .........(1) is a/an ...(2)
film based on ...........(3) It is made in ..................(4). The film tells us a story
about

...............................(5).The

main

character(s)

is/are

X.................

(6)andY...........X..........(7).(8)...........................
The

film

has

a

..........(9).............

ending

and

I

find

it

really ...........................................(10)”.

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2. The results of the lesson plan

The lesson plan is applied with class 10B7. Students understood the outline of
the film desription and they can produce good descriptions of the films they
have seen. With class 10B5, I didn't apply this lesson plan. I didn't give outline
and explanation on the language use and functions of the sentences in the model
description. Consequently, students in class 10B5 couldn't produce satisfactory
writings although students in class 10B5 are more intelligent than students in
class 10B7. The results of the two writing lessons conducted in classes 10B5 and
10B7 were as follows:
Class
Number of students
Satisfactory writings
Unsatisfactory writings

10B5
40
28
12

10B7
41
30
10

As can be seen from the table with the help of teacher's discourse competence,
teacher can provide a better lesoon for his students and as a result, forming
discourse competence in his students. If teacher does not prepare more materials
using only sources available in the textbook, his students are not given adequate
instruction on how to write a particular piece of writing.

21

CONCLUSION
1. Discourse competence is by far the most important in teaching productive
skills. With a good discourse competence, teacher can teach writing effectively.
He will know how to provide students with necessary knowledge to achieve a
particular aim of each writing lesson. To build discourse competence is a must to
every teacher of English at secondary schools.
2. Textbook does prepare a great deal of teaching material for teachers.
However, it leaves considerable space for them. In writing lessons, textbook
requires teacher to have an adequate knowledge of 16 types of texts. If teacher
does not have this knowledge, his writing lesson can never be satisfactory.
Therefore, to deal with writing lessons in textbook English 10, teacher needs to
prepare sample writings of these 16 texts as well as good knowledge of the
genre, the language and outline of the texts.
3. The result of writing lessons conducted in two classes at Hoang Hoa Two
High School have proved that discourse competence of teacher does help him a
great deal in teaching writing. Therefore, it is hoped that teachers of English
always apply their discourse competence in their teaching.

School Leaders’ confirmation

Hoang Hoa, May 20th 2021
Hereby, I certify that the study is the
result of my own research.

Lê Thị Quế

REFERENCES
22

1. Tiếng Anh 10, Hoàng Văn Vân, Hoàng Thị Xuân Hoa, Đỗ Tuấn Minh,
Nguyễn Thu Phương, Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn, Nhà xuất bản Giáo dục, 2008
2. Tiếng Anh 10, Sách giáo viên, Hoàng Văn Vân, Hoàng Thị Xuân Hoa, Đỗ
Tuấn Minh, Nguyễn Thu Phương, Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn, Nhà xuất bản Giáo dục,
2008
3. Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue Introduction to Academic writing, Longman,
1997.
4. Brown, G and G, Yule. (1983). Discourse Analysis, Cambridge CUP
5. Cook, G. (1989). Discourse, Oxford University Press.
6. Halliday, M.A. K. & R. Hasan. (1976). Cohesion in English, London :
Longman
7. Nguyen Hoa ( 2000 ). An Introduction to Discourse Analysis, Hanoi National
University, College of Foreign languages.

DANH MỤC
23


CÁC ĐỀ TÀI SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ĐÃ ĐƯỢC HỘI ĐỒNG
ĐÁNH GIÁ XẾP LOẠI CẤP SỞ GD&ĐT VÀ CÁC CẤP CAO HƠN
XẾP LOẠI C TRỞ LÊN
Họ và tên tác giả: LÊ THỊ QUẾ
Chức vụ và đơn vị công tác: Giáo viên Tiếng Anh trường THPT Hoằng Hóa 2
TT
Tên đề tài SKKN
Cấp
Kết quả Năm học
đánh

đánh
đánh giá
giá xếp giá xếp
xếp loại
loại
loại
1
Vận dụng phương pháp giao tiếp để
Sở GD
C
2001-2002
dạy các bài tập 1(A) SGK lớp 11 theo
& ĐT
phương pháp đổi mới
2
Dạy kỹ năng nói để học sinh hứng
Sở GD
C
2012-2013
thú học
& ĐT

24