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Tài liệu A study on perceptions towards the use of writing portfolio among english – majored sophomores in faculty of foreign languages, hanoi pedagogical university 2

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HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2 FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES PHAN THI KHANH HOA A STUDY ON PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE USE OF WRITING PORTFOLIO AMONG ENGLISH – MAJORED SOPHOMORES IN FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2 BACHELOR THESIS Major: English Language Teaching Hanoi, 2019 HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2 FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES PHAN THI KHANH HOA A STUDY ON PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE USE OF WRITING PORTFOLIO AMONG ENGLISH – MAJORED SOPHOMORES IN FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2 BACHELOR THESIS Major: English Language Teaching Supervisor: Pham Thi Tuan Hanoi, 2019 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Ms. Pham Thi Tuan. She is very enthusiastic to give me the valuable suggestion for the problems that I had during the process of doing the research. Besides, I would like to extent my appreciation to all the lecturers at Faculty of Foreign Languages for their help and support. My special thank also goes to the second-year students at Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hanoi Pedagogical University 2. If it hadn‟t been for their support, I wouldn‟t have completed the research on time. Last but not least, I am grateful to my close friends for their contribution to my study. ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Tittle: A STUDY ON PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE USE OF WRITING PORTFOLIO AMONG ENGLISH – MAJORED SOPHOMORES IN FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2 (Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Bachelor of arts in English) I certify that no part in this study has not been copied by me from any other person„s report without acknowledgment and this work is written by my best under the instruction from my supervisor. Date of submission: May, 2019. Student Supervisor Phan Thi Khanh Hoa Pham Thi Tuan iii ABSTRACT Writing is considered to be one of the most challenging skills in leaning a foreign language. Thus, having an effective writing learning strategy is a big concern of many language learners. Among writing learning tools, writing portfolio is one of the most popular tools that learners use in their English learning. The study was to identify students‟ perceptions towards their writing learning and the use of writing portfolio. The research was carried out among 60 second-year Englishmajored students in Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hanoi Pedagogical University 2. To achieve the research aims, survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data for analysis. The research findings showed that the use of writing portfolio had certain positive effects on students‟ writing learning. Besides, students had both positive and negative views towards this learning tool. The research also suggests some implications for the use of writing portfolio in students‟ writing learning. Key words: Writing, writing portfolio, perceptions iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 1. HPU2: Hanoi Pedagogical University 2 2. FFL: Faculty of Foreign Language v LIST OF THE TABLES AND FIGURES Tables: Table 1 Students‟ ranks of writing aspects to be focused when writing English Table 2 Students‟ views towards their English writing Table 3 Students‟ perceptions towards the use of writing portfolio Table 4 Students‟ views towards other benefits of using writing portfolio Figures: Figure1 Students‟ frequency of English writing practice Figure 2 Students‟ time spent on practicing writing English Figure 3 Writing steps that students follow when practice writing English Figure 4 Students‟ difficulties when writing English Figure 5 Aspects of writing students often make errors in Figure 6 The students‟ purposes of keeping a writing portfolio Figure 7 Students‟ frequency of writing when using portfolio Figure 8 Students‟ time spent on their portfolio Figure 9 Students‟ writing process when using portfolio Figure 10 Students‟ opinions about the effect of keeping a writing portfolio on their writing Figure 11 Students‟ opinions on keeping a writing portfolio vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................. ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ................................................................. iii ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................... v LIST OF THE TABLES AND FIGURES ....................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................ vii PART A. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1 1. Rationale ..................................................................................................... 1 2. Significance................................................................................................. 2 3. Scope of the study ....................................................................................... 2 4. Aims of the study and Research questions ................................................... 2 5. Methods of the study ..................................................................................... 3 6. Design of the study........................................................................................ 3 PART B. DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................. 4 CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................... 4 1. An overview of writing ................................................................................. 4 1.1 Definition of writing ................................................................................... 4 1.2 The importance of writing........................................................................... 4 2. An overview of writing portfolio in writing learning ................................... 5 2.1. Definition of writing portfolio ................................................................... 5 2.2. The types of writing portfolio .................................................................... 6 2.3. The effects of writing portfolio on writing skills ....................................... 7 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY.................................................................. 10 1. Participants .................................................................................................. 10 2. Data collection instruments ......................................................................... 10 2.1. Survey questionnaire ................................................................................ 10 2.1.1. Reasons for using Questionnaire: ......................................................... 10 vii 2.1.2. Description of questionnaire ................................................................. 10 2.2. Interviews ................................................................................................. 11 2.2.1. Reasons for using Interview .................................................................. 11 2.2.2. Description of interview ........................................................................ 11 3. The procedure of data collection ................................................................. 12 CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .......................................... 13 1. Students‟ perceptions towards their writing learning. ................................ 13 1.1 Students‟ frequency of English writing practice....................................... 13 1.2 Students‟ time spent on practicing writing English .................................. 14 1.3 Writing steps that students follow when practicing writing English ........ 15 1.4 Students‟ ranks of writing aspects to be focused when writing ................ 15 1.5 Students‟ difficulties when writing English .............................................. 16 1.6 Aspects of writing students often make errors in...................................... 17 1.7 Students‟ views towards their English writing ......................................... 18 2. Students‟ perceptions towards using writing portfolio in writing learning 20 2.1 As for the group of students using writing portfolio in writing learning.. 20 2.1.1 The students’ purposes of keeping a writing portfolio .......................... 20 2.1.2 Students’ frequency of portfolio writing ................................................ 21 2.1.3 Students’ time spent on their portfolio ................................................... 21 2.1.4 Students’ portfolio writing process ........................................................ 22 2.1.5 Students’ opinions about the effect of keeping a writing portfolio on their writing ..................................................................................................... 23 2.1.6 Students’ perceptions towards the use of writing portfolio. .................. 24 2.1.7 Students’ views towards other benefits of using writing portfolio ........ 25 2.2 As for the group of students not using writing portfolio in writing learning27 2.2.1 Students’ opinions on keeping a writing portfolio ................................. 27 2.2.2 Students’ intention in using writing portfolio in the future ................... 27 3. Implications ................................................................................................. 28 3.1 Recommendations on format of portfolio ................................................. 28 3.1.1 An overview of format of writing portfolio ............................................ 28 viii 3.1.2 Recommendations for learners .............................................................. 29 3.1.3 Recommendations for teachers .............................................................. 29 3.2 Recommendations on the use of writing portfolio.................................... 29 3.2.1 Recommendations for learners .............................................................. 29 3.2.2 Recommendations for teachers .............................................................. 29 3.3 Other implications ..................................................................................... 30 PART C: CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................. 31 1. Major findings ............................................................................................. 31 2. Limitations of the study .............................................................................. 31 3. Suggestion for further study ........................................................................ 31 REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 33 APPENDIX ..................................................................................................... 36 ix PART A. INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale English, nowadays, has become the international language. In many countries, it is the second compulsory language taught at schools. When studying English, students try to learn and to master four skills including reading, writing, speaking and listening. Writing is considered as the biggest barrier on the way to be master of English. Writing is the process of representing language in readable and understandable forms (Gameel, 2016). In learning a foreign language, writing skill is believed to foster students‟ creativeness and critical thinking. Students have to present their ideas via manipulating their vocabulary and grammar flexibly to create their own works. In addition, learning writing enables students to write curriculum vitae when they apply for a job, to write reports and other written documentations. However, making a good writing is the process demanding a lot of learners‟ efforts and time to improve their language competence. Consequently, most of language learners have considered writing the most challenging task. There are a lot of problems facing them when learning writing skill as follows: Firstly, they often tend to translate mechanically from Vietnamese to the target language. This negative transference leads to ungrammatical sentences, even lack of coherence and cohesion. Learners, especially freshman, often make common errors on simple sentences, the agreement between the subject and the verb or wrong use of transition signals, for example. Secondly, students often tend to learn specific genres of writing, for examples, the formal letter, the informal email and a job application letter. Obviously, learning these kinds of writing is essential for exam success, but it does not always encourage them to write in relaxing and creative way. Last but not least, the assessment of students‟ writing abilities, in fact, mainly focuses on the result of formal examinations rather than the learning process. Therefore, students are likely not to frequently practice writing in order to build the writing habit. These are the reasons why the quality of students‟ performance needs improving. Writing portfolio provides students with good opportunities to improve their writing skills individually and good chances to record their thoughts and feelings (Ngoh, 2002). Lagan (2000), as cited in Ali (2017), mentioned to the merits of writing portfolio that “writing a portfolio will help you develop the habit of thinking on paper and show you how idea is discovered in the process of writing. Due to its 1 advantages, writing portfolio was considered as an additional useful tool in language writing learning. There were many previous researches about the use of writing portfolio in learning, and teaching writing carried out in a wide different range of subjects. However, up to now, there has not been any research conducted on the students at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2. This inspires me to do this research with a view to enhancing EFL learners‟ writing skill at HPU2. 2. Significance Writing portfolio could be used as an additional writing learning tool in order to help students to develop writing habit. The findings of the study could help me make a decision whether I should keep doing writing portfolio as a habit in myself writing learning and use this learning tool for English writing classes I may teach in the future as well. Moreover, this study could be used as the reference for future experiments. 3. Scope of the study The study is limited to investigating “A Study on Perceptions Towards the Use of Writing Portfolio Among English – majored Sophomores in Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hanoi Pedagogical University 2”. Therefore, the study is carried out on the subjects of 60 second-year English-majored students at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2. 4. Aims of the study and Research questions 4.1. Aims of the study The study “A Study on Perceptions Towards the Use of Writing Portfolio Among English – majored Sophomores in Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hanoi Pedagogical University 2” is carried out with a view to: - determining the students‟ perceptions towards their writing skills. - determining students‟ perceptions towards the use of writing portfolio including frequency, accuracy, amount of time, writing process, and other integrate skills. 4.2. Research questions What are the FFL‟s second-year students‟ perceptions towards the use of writing portfolio in writing learning in Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hanoi Pedagogical University 2? 2 5. Methods of the study To achieve the aims of the study, the methods that have been applied are survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The participants of the study are the second year English-majored students at FFL, HPU2. 6. Design of the study This study is divided into 3 parts as follows: Part A, Introduction, offers an overview of Rationale, Aims of the study, Research questions, Scope of the study, Methods of the study and Significance of the study. Part B, Development, gives information on Literature Methodology, Findings and Discussion and Implications of the study. Review, Chapter I, Literature Review, presents theoretical background knowledge about Writing portfolio and major findings of the previous studies. Chapter II, Methodology, describes in detail the Participants, Research instruments employed and Procedure of data collection analysis. Chapter III, Findings and discussion, analyzes gathered data and presents discussion of research results, and Implications. Part C, Conclusion, reviews Major findings, Limitations and Suggestion for further study. 3 PART B. DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter presents theoretical background of the study including the theories of writing, the definitions of writing portfolio, types of writing portfolios. 1. An overview of writing 1.1 Definition of writing Writing is one of the four language skills besides listening, speaking and reading in learning a foreign language. Tiwari (2005), as cited in David (2013) defined writing as a process of converting thought into written language. In other words, writing is the expression of ideas, thinking or feeling in words on the piece of paper. In addition, good ideas, well organization and appropriate style are necessary factors that students need to have in the process of writing. Nunan (2003), as cited in Gameel (2016) stated that writing is the mental work of producing ideas, brainstorming how about to express them, and organizing them into statements and paragraphs that will be clear to a reader. Gaith (2002), as cited in Blanka (2014) claimed that writing is a complex process that enables writers to explore thought and ideas, and make them visible and concrete on the piece of paper. Writing offers a good opportunity to generate ideas and gain information. By writing, students can express their thoughts and feelings to others. From the definition above, it can be concluded that writing is process of transforming writer‟s inner thought into readable form. 1.2 The importance of writing The written language has nowadays an important social and education function and it has a high social status (Urbanova and Oakland, 2002). In language learning, the important role of learning writing is undeniable. Writing enables students to express their personality, helps students to develop thinking skill and gives them a chance to later reflect on their ideas and re-evaluate them (Chappell, 2011). As Walsh (2010) said that “writing is important because it is used extensively in higher education and in the workplace. It is likely seen as a mean of communication of students. Much of professional communication is done in 4 writing: proposals, reports, applications, interviews, e-mails, and more are parts of daily life of students.” Blanka (2013) claimed that writing has a unique position in writing learning since it acquires a practice and knowledge of other three language skills, including listening, reading and speaking. If students know how to express themselves in writing, they will be able to communicate well with professors, employers, peers, or just anyone else. In addition, the weaknesses in English proficiency, especially in writing skill, can have influence on conveying their knowledge which is acquired from other sources of reading or listening (Morinosadat, Mohamad, & Elham, 2013). Strong writing skills may enhance students' chances for success (Alexander, 2008). In discussing the significance of writing to learning, Suleiman (2000), as cited in Elizabeth (2002) also stressed that writing is an essential factor of language. Any reading and language curriculum must think about the multidimensional nature of writing in instructional practices, evaluation procedures, and language development. Hansen's (2002), as cited in Mohammed (2012) stated that academicians and business people view writing skill as crucial, yet increasing numbers of these professionals note a steady attrition in the writing abilities of graduates. Alexander (2008), as cited in Luu (2010) believed that “writing skills are the primary tools for communicating knowledge, especially in educational settings. The capacity to communicate specifically may prove to be an achievement in life chances. On the other hand, the ability to represent oneself well on paper will help him secure a job or higher educational chances after graduation.” In summary, the role of writing in life, especially in studying a foreign language, is obviously important. Writing well may open the door to progress in almost any field a person might opt for in the future. 2. An overview of writing portfolio in writing learning 2.1. Definition of writing portfolio An extensive review of literature has multiple definitions for writing portfolio (Bailey, 1990; Bain, 1999; Spaventa, 2000; Curtis & Baily, 2009; Barjesteh, Vaseghi, & Gholami, 2011). For instance, Bailey (1990), as cited in Hanah, Rahima, Nowreyah, Andulmohsen (2015) defined writing portfolio as “a first-person account of a language learning or teaching experience, documented 5 through regular, candid entries in a personal portfolio”. In Curtis & Baily (2009), a portfolio is described as a daily written record of personal thoughts and feelings which seems to be important to the writer which is not set for publication. Additionally, recently researchers viewed portfolio as a writing activity where writers can freely write about their topic of interest without the fear of evaluation (Barjesteh, Vaseghi, & Gholami, 2011). Another similar view on portfolios was argued that student learning portfolios “can be seen as a hybrid genre of writing” between “life narrative” and the “university essay” (Crème, 2008). Keeping writing portfolio offers learners transitional learning space that enables creative activity, fosters autonomy, and motivates learners to take responsibility for their own learning (Hamp, Lyons & Heasly, 2006; Marefat, 2002). In this regard, Barnett (2005), as cited in Geoffrey, Karen, Peter (2013) considered writing portfolio as “critical space” which provides students the guidance, setting and time needed to explore ideas and expand their critical thinking activity. Furthermore, learners are encouraged to write freely, about a range of topics, how they feel about a topic. This makes them to become more fluent writers. 2.2. The types of writing portfolio Roger (2001) classified writing portfolio content into nine categories, namely: i. Learning portfolios are typically handwritten entries in notebooks or pads of paper that record thoughts, reflections, feelings, personal opinions, and even hopes or fears during educational experience. ii. Diaries are typically notebooks, booklets of blank pages, or any other sources for students to record thoughts, reactions to learning experiences, and even innermost fears about learning activities. iii. Dream Book or Log is usually used to recording people‟s dream experience. This usually involves keeping a recording device (such as a tablet, notebook, and even tape recorder). iv. Autobiographies, Life stories, and Memoirs reveal the heart and soul of human existence, promote a sharing of experiences with others by examining similarities and differences between individual life histories. v. Spiritual Portfolios normally involve recording personal reactions to spiritual or religious matters. vi. Professional Portfolios have very specific purposes. 6 vii. Interactive Reading Log provides a mechanism to for a student to reflect critically on information as it is read. viii. Theory Log is considered as reading theory critically (Brookfield, 1995). ix. Electronic Portfolio is usually used in recording students‟ insights or reflections in electronic form. According to Gameel (2016), there are three types of portfolios which can be used in ESL/EFL settings: i. Dialogue portfolios serve as way of conversation written down but they also provide ESL students with sources for language and writing improvement. (Peyton, 1987) ii. Literary portfolios record the students‟ response to particular paragraph from a literary text. iii. Subject portfolios serve as responses to background readings such as biographies, or personalized dictionary of literary and linguistic terms. Although there were many other researchers‟ classifications, this study mainly followed Roger‟s classification of writing portfolio. 2.3. The effects of writing portfolio on writing skills Writing is regarded as the most complex skill to learn and teach. It is the combination of vocabulary, grammar and punctuation to express the writer‟s ideas. Harmer (2004), as cited in Hanah, Rahima, Nowreyah, Andulmohsen (2015) claimed that the process of making a good writing was much more complex than speech. To be a writing master, a writer needs to master all the necessary features, including rich vocabulary, using a wide ranges of grammar structures, and knowlegde of the mechanics of writing (Bitchener, 2008). This demands a lot of learners‟ efforts and time to improve their language profiency. Lagan (2000), as cited in Ali (2017) suggested that “the more you practice writing, the better you will write”. In other words, language learners need to write as frequently and regularly as possible to make it “routine writing workout” (Uduma, 2011). “Meanwhile classroom writing is an essential requirement in academic curriculum, having a writing learning tool outside the classroom can be useful to enhance students‟ writing skills” (Chanderasegaran, 2002). One way to practice writing at home is using writing portfolios which “are notebooks in which 7 writers keep a record of ideas, opinions, and description of daily life. Portfolios help writers develop their creativity” (Spaventa, 2000). Writing portfolio is a very interesting writing learning tool, useful in ESL/EFL writing classes (Allison, 1998). Confirming this claim, Gameel (2016) stated that it primarily gives students an opportunity to think deeply on paper, confidently to express their ideas, emotions, observations without criticism. Marefat (2002), as cited in Chui (2012) referred to writing portfolio as an “exercise in selfreflection about learning itself”. Moreover, writing portfolio helps to promote the relationship between students and teachers through regular communication over a course, semester or school year. While in-class writing tasks likely make students nervous, writing portfolio can minimize the distance between the students and the teachers (Luu, 2010). Ngoh (2002), as cited in Luu (2010) supported that portfolio writing can create a positive learning atmosphere along with a high learning stimulation. Research findings suggested that keeping writing portfolio improves students‟ writing ability. For example, in Indonesia, Wafa, Siafei & Riyono (2010), as cited in Geoffrey, Karen, Peter (2013) investigated the effect of writing portfolio on 38 10th grade EFL students at SMA NI Jekulo Kudus. They wanted to know whether there is significance progress in students‟ writing ability after keeping writing portfolio. The instruments used in their experiment are pre-test, post-test and students‟ writing portfolio. The results indicated that students‟ scores increased by writing portfolio. It encouraged students‟ imagination and also helped to enrich their vocabulary. Students were more excited to express their thoughts, feelings and much less afraid when they make mistakes. They gave conclusions that overall students‟ writing ability is improved. Portfolios as effective tools made a significant contribution to the students‟ writing improvement. However, the limitation of the study was that students still have difficulties with grammar and vocabulary. Similarly, to figure out whether writing portfolio enhanced students‟ writing skill and whether it promotes students‟ writing attitudes, Luu (2010) conducted a study on 85 second-year university students who take a writing class. The study mainly focused on students‟ writing proficiency level in terms of fluency and accuracy. The experimental group kept writing portfolio as inside class as well as outside class activities whereas the control wrote normal essays only. The pre-test‟s and post-test‟s results revealed that the experimental group show more writing accuracy compared to the control. Also, the writing fluency of the experimental 8 group was higher than the control group. Writing portfolio as an extensive activity boosted students‟ writing skill and their motivation. These previous researchers showed the undeniable benefits of keeping writing portfolio that other inside class learning tools infrequently do. It enabled students to write regularly in order that they can build writing habit. Lagan (2000), as cited in Ali (2017) wrote about the merits of writing portfolio: “Portfolio writing will help you get into the habit of thinking on paper and show you how ideas can be explored in the process of writing. A portfolio can make writing a familiar part of your life and can serve as a continuing source of ideas for papers.” Charles (2005), as cited in Maryam, Mohd (2013) pointed out that the major advantages of the writing portfolio scheme were to increase students‟ positive attitudes and their interest towards English writing. Luu (2010) considered writing portfolio as one type of creative writing that can help students brainstorm ideas and write more competently and accurately. What is more, many other researchers found positive connections between regularly writing and the development of fluency (Casanave, 2011; Cowler, 2010; Liao & Wong, 2007; Piazza, 2003). 9 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 1. Participants The study is limited to investigate “the students‟ perceptions towards the use of writing portfolio in writing learning” to the second – year English majors at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2. Therefore, 60 EFL students from K43 Class at Faculty of Foreign Languages were chosen to participate in the study. Most of their writing proficiency is average and they have learned English for 10 years at least. 2. Data collection instruments Data was collected by two main instruments: survey questionnaire and interviews. 2.1. Survey questionnaire 2.1.1. Reasons for using Questionnaire: This study used questionnaire to collect the data in quantitative form which focuses “rigorous quantitative analysis” (Kothari, 2004). He said that questionnaire is not only practical but also can be carried out by the researcher or by any number of people. Large amounts of information can be collected from a large number of people in a short period of time and in a relatively cost effective way. The results of the questionnaires can usually be quickly and easily quantified by the researcher and can be analyzed more scientifically and objectively than other forms of research. 2.1.2. Description of questionnaire Survey questionnaire consists of 22 questions which were divided into three main parts. In part I, students‟ perceptions towards writing, the students were asked about their general information. In part II, there were questions about the perceptions towards students‟ writing learning. The students were asked about such information as: their writing process, difficulties in writing learning. In part III, students‟ perceptions towards the use of writing portfolio in writing learning, there were 2 groups of questions: 10
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