VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ UYÊN USING HOTs ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE ESSAY WRITING FOR EFL STUDENTS AT AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL SỬ DỤNG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG TƯ DUY BẬC CAO ĐỂ CẢI THIỆN KỸ NĂNG VIẾT CHO HỌC SINH EFL TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG QUỐC TẾ M. MINOR THESIS FIELD: English Language Teaching Methodology CODE: 8140231.01 HA NOI – 2024 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ UYÊN USING HOTs ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE ESSAY WRITING FOR EFL STUDENTS AT AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL SỬ DỤNG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG TƯ DUY BẬC CAO ĐỂ CẢI THIỆN KỸ NĂNG VIẾT CHO HỌC SINH EFL TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG QUỐC TẾ M. MINOR THESIS FIELD: English Language Teaching Methodology CODE: 8140231. Professor Nguyen Thi Mai Huong HA NOI – 2024 DECLARATION I, Nguyễn Thị Uyên, hereby declare that this thesis represents my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged which has not been previously included in any theses or dissertations submitted to this or any other institutions for a degree, diploma or other qualifications.
Should this declaration be found to be false, disciplinary action could be taken and penalties imposed in accordance with the University policy. Signature Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Assoc. Professor Nguyen Thi Mai Huong i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The present study was on the achievement of completion due to the facilitation and invaluable support of a diverse group of motivated individuals. I am writing to convey my profound gratitude for their enduring support and invaluable insights throughout my journey towards attaining a Master‟s degree.
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Nguyen Thi Mai Huong, for her diligent review and perceptive analysis of the multiple iterations of the thesis. Her advanced theoretical intellecture and critical acclaim have proven to be enlightening and motivational. She has wholeheartedly dedicated her intellect and emotions towards providing me with unwavering support, empathizing with the challenges I have faced, and accompanying me throughout the arduous journey of research. Without her invaluable contributions, this work would not have attained its ultimate form.
Also, I express my profound gratitude to the esteemed instructors at the Faculty of Postgraduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, for their endless support and unwavering patience throughout my academic journey at this institution. I would like to extend my gratitude to my colleagues and close friends for generously dedicating their valuable time to collaborate on exchanging teaching experiences, transcribing and interpreting interviews, and analyzing data for the purpose of verification. This thesis would not have been feasible without their wonderful assistance and spiritual support. Moreover, the principal, teachers, and students of the school where this study was carried out are deserving of profound appreciation.
Thanks to the genuine collaboration of all involved, I was able to collect substantial data and successfully conclude the current project. Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my family for their unwavering support during my journey to obtain a Master‟s degree. The consistent support and commendation I have received really help navigate challenges, ii ultimately contributing to my current achievements. Particularly, “thank you” may fall short in adequately conveying the depth of my appreciation towards my spouse for his commitment and patience during my periods of procrastination, and his remarkable tolerance towards my occasional irritability when faced with academic challenges.
Our endeavors have yielded positive outcomes, as we currently partake in the significant achievements of life together. iii ABSTRACT Teaching to write in English as a foreign language is a complex and time- consuming process that requires strenuous effort and practice. Writing proficiently involves creative inspiration, problem-solving skills, thoughtful thinking, and diligent rewriting, which all contribute to the production of a finalized work. Nevertheless, traditional teaching approaches that rely on dependence and rote memorization continue to be prevalent in the instruction of writing by English Second Language (ESL) educators.
More specifically, in the target school, where the majority of students exhibit limited competency in writing, the English curriculum predominantly prioritizes lower-order cognitive skills such as factual memory and basic expression, rather than actively fostering higher-order thinking abilities. The prevalence of passive penmanship among students necessitates a pressing need to address the impracticality of implementing creative solutions aimed at eradicating the practice of “spoon-feeding” in this context. Hence, the researcher has resorted to higher order thinking skills (HOTs) as an effective tool to instruct her English as a Foreign Language ( EFL) students in their writing. In this action research, HOTs activities were implemented to improve writing proficiency among 36 grade-11 students at an international school.
The study mainly focuses on investigating how HOTs activities influenced students‟ essay writing skills. Both qualitative and quantitative sets of data were collected with the aids of tests, questionnaires, interviews, and teacher‟s journals. The findings highlighted that the majority of students were enthusiastic about HOTs activities and showed improvement in their writing after participating in the intervention. Meanwhile, the activities related to creation had higher contribution than the analyzing and evaluating ones.
Though HOTs activities mostly work effectively in enhancing writing skills, students‟ various levels need to be taken into consideration when applying a specific activity. Pedagogical implications were also drawn from the findings. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.
viii LIST OF TABLES. viii LIST OF FIGURES. viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. Rationale of the study.
Aims of the research. Method of the research. Scope of the Research. Significance of the Research.
Structural Organization of the Thesis. Teaching writing skills in the EFL classroom. Writing skills and writing skills needed for (argumentative) essay writing. Writing Problems among ESL Writers.
Approaches to Teach Writing in ESL Classrooms. The indicators of a good essay. The concepts of HOTs. The Definition of HOTs.
Teaching HOTs in writing. Strategies to Foster HOTs. Reviews of previous studies. The application of action research in this minor study.
Action research Cycle. Participants of the study. Data collection and analysis. Data collection procedures.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. The influences of HOTs activities on the students‟ English essays writing. The implementation of HOTs activities in the writing classroom. Using i-Think Maps to foster higher-order thinking skills.
Comparing and contrasting. Problem-solving skills. HOTs‟ applications in students‟ writing. Reports of students‟ preferences for some certain HOTs activities based on their learning reflections.
Students‟ preference for HOTs activities. Students‟ perceptions toward benefits of HOTs activities. CONCLUSION AND SUGGUESTION. Implications for students.
Implications for teachers and educators. I vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HOTS Higher-order thinking skills LOTS Low-order thinking skills EFL English as a Foreign Language ESL English as a Second Language GCSE General Certificate of Secondary Education CAR Classroom Action Research CEFR Common European Framework of Reference for Languages IELTS International English Language Testing System LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Bloom‟s Cognitive Process Dimension. Background information of the subjects.
Descriptions of writing evaluation categories. Results of pretest. XV LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Producing a piece of writing (Raimes, 6).
Kemmis and McTaggart model. 20 viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale of the study HOTs, encompassing skills like analysis, evaluation, and creation, plays a crucial role in personal development. These cognitive processes encourage individuals to transcend basic understanding and memory, paving the way for innovative thinking and problem-solving abilities.
According to Bloom‟s taxonomy, HOTs involves the top three levels of the cognitive process: application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. This framework suggests that engaging in such complex cognitive tasks empowers individuals to connect with and apply knowledge in varied, meaningful ways, thus fostering a deeper sense of personal efficacy Armstrong, P. Research supports the notion that developing higher order thinking skills is integral to achieving personal success and adaptability in an ever-changing world. A study by Lewis and Smith (1993) found that students who engaged in higher order thinking were better able to apply learned knowledge to new situations, indicating a higher degree of cognitive and personal adaptability.
This capability is crucial for continuous personal growth and for navigating the complexities of modern life. In essence, these skills enhance one‟s ability to critically assess information, make informed decisions, and creatively solve problems. Furthermore, higher order thinking directly contributes to more effective communication skills. By analyzing and evaluating information, individuals learn to articulate their thoughts more clearly and persuasively.
This aspect of personal development not only improves interpersonal relationships but also enhances professional opportunities, as effective communication is highly valued in virtually every field. The cultivation of higher order thinking skills is foundational to personal development. It facilitates a deeper understanding of the world, nurtures problem-solving capabilities, and improves communication skills. All of these benefits combine to help individuals lead more successful and fulfilling lives.
1 Being proficient in English seems to be a daunting task as it requires learners to communicate efficiently both in spoken and written language. The question raised to educators is to detect the teaching methods that are appropriate and accordance with learners‟ abilities to achieve the expected learning goals. Over the past decades, implementing HOTs in education emerges has been proved as an effective way to train and improve students‟ thinking skills creatively and critically. In language learning and teaching, the application of HOTs is believed to enhance students‟ motivation, having a profound effect on the quality of learning in students and, also, they can deepen the process of understanding the concepts and solving the problems.
In Vietnam, the implementation of HOTs is supposed to help students reach their full potential. Teachers in general and English teachers in particular have increasingly shown their preference to this kind of method teaching over others. Especially in teaching essay writing, where students‟ cognitive skills are nurtured and bloom, HOTs serve as an important element that English teachers need to apply to foster a culture of critical, creative and innovative thinking for their students. However, there is a fact that productive skills in general, writing skills in particular tend to be neglected in Vietnamese mass education as they are not integrated in the GCSE.
Seen as the most complicated skill, writing poses an enormous challenge to students as “the development of writing requires the effective co-ordination, which is cognitive, linguistic, and psycho-motor processes” (Westwood, 2008). Writing is not as simple as putting words together, indeed, it is a premise for people‟s development in critical thinking, analytical skills, and cognitive abilities. The diversified topics using in writing academic essays help students reflect their views about all fields of life like education, culture and social issues. Important as it may be, monotonous writing lessons automatically attribute to unassertive students, the passive receivers of language knowledge rather than language construction.
The students, hence, do not have language capacity enough to express their ideas and opinions, which lead to the obstacles to improve students‟ writing and critically thinking. Having taught English for nearly 5 years, seeing the challenges faced by the 2 students in learning essay writing, the author has made a decision to carry out action research where she applied HOTs activities in teaching writing essay to her students with a strong desire of exploring the effective teaching method that works to both teachers and learners. Her research is strongly inspired by numerous studies that show the positive effectiveness of the application of HOTs into teaching writing as it makes delivering the learners‟ idea and feelings in written form in a practical way. With these outstanding hopes, the topic “Using HOTs activities to improve essay writing for EFL students at an international school” is of the researcher‟s great interest.