VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ---oOo--- ĐOÀN THỊ NGỌC MAI DEVELOPING AUTONOMY FOR FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT A UNIVERSITY IN VINH THROUGH WRITING PORTFOLIO (Phát triển tính tự học của sinh viên năm thứ nhất chuyên ngành tiếng anh tại một trường đại học ở Vinh thông qua hoạt động viết Portfolio) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Hanoi - 2019 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ---oOo--- ĐOÀN THỊ NGỌC MAI DEVELOPING AUTONOMY FOR FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT A UNIVERSITY IN VINH THROUGH WRITING PORTFOLIO (Phát triển tính tự học của sinh viên năm thứ nhất chuyên ngành tiếng anh tại một trường đại học ở Vinh thông qua hoạt động viết Portfolio) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231. Nguyen Thi Huong Hanoi - 2019 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION Title: ―DEVELOPING AUTONOMY FOR FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT A UNIVERSITY IN VINH THROUGH WRITING PORTFOLIO‖ I certify that no part of the thesis has been copied or reproduced by me from any other works without acknowledgement and that the thesis is originally written by me under strict guidance of my supervisor. Hanoi, 2019 Student’s signature Đoàn Thị Ngọc Mai i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To begin with, I would like to send my profound gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Huong for her detailed and precise guidance and tremendous support.
Secondly, I would also like to thank my beloved students for their participation in my action research. Without their enthusiasm, the research could not be completed. Additionally, I want to send my sincere thanks to the university steering committee and my colleagues. They are such a great help to me during the process of research implementation.
They not only give me useful advice but also encourage me to complete the research. Finally, I must express my very profound gratitude to my husband and my family for their wholehearted support. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT Developing and fostering students’ learning autonomy is placed importance for college students since learning autonomy not only helps them to be more independent and effective in their studying but also partly lay some bricks on the path of life-long learning for students. This research is implemented with the purpose of investigating the use of portfolio writing to enhance the first-year students’ learning autonomy in writing in particular and in their studying in general.
The research is undertaken as an action research which employs the qualitative method including surveys, interviews and teaching journals. The outcome of the research indicates that most of the students find the use of portfolio writing useful for their learning autonomy. A majority of them has learnt how to stick on the requirements of the assignments during their writing and be more responsible for their study. Furthermore, they have become more critical on the knowledge and information they encountered and started to understand their strengths and weaknesses to find out their own suitable learning style.
However, they are still struggling with some essential skills such as time management skills. Therefore, most of them want a better schedule for the writing course. Even though students favor and find the use of portfolio writing effective, there is a call for further studies to have a bigger and more detailed picture of the usefulness of portfolio writing before it is implemented officially in colleges. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .iv LIST OF FIGURES .vi LIST OF TABLES .vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. Rationale of the study. Aims of the study. Scope of the study.Error! Bookmark not defined.
Significance of the study. Methods of the study. Structure of the thesis. 3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Definitions of learner autonomy. The importance of learner autonomy in language learning. Components of learner autonomy. Some ways to enhance learner autonomy.
Definition of portfolio and portfolio writing. The role of portfolio writing. Settings and participants. Data collection instruments.
24 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Error! Bookmark not defined. Error! Bookmark not defined. 26 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS.
Effects of portfolio writing on the students’ learning management. Effects of portfolio writing on the students’ learning strategies. Effects of portfolio writing on the students’ learning content. Major findings of the study.
Suggestions for further studies. Limitations of the study. CHECKLIST FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT, PEER REVIEW AND REFLECTION. TEACHING JOURNAL AND STUDENTS’ WRITING EXTRACTS.
XXXI v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The classification of cognitive strategies from Oxford (1990:39). 9 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The topic of each week in the writing course. 18 Table 2: Students’ opinions on the effect of portfolio writing on planning and organizing their learning. 29 Table 3: Students’ opinions on the effect of portfolio writing on evaluating their learning.
33 Table 4: Students’ opinions on the effect of portfolio writing on their cognitive strategies. 37 Table 5: Students’ opinions on the effect of portfolio writing on their metacognitive strategies. 42 Table 6: Students’ opinions on the effect of portfolio writing on their learning content. 45 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter presents a general overview on the rationale, aims and objectives, research questions, significance of the study.
In addition, the chosen research methods and the structure of the study are also provided. Rationale of the study In the past few decades, learners’ autonomy has become a highly – concerned issue that generated heated debates in the educational forums. In a context where the necessity of learning and knowledge has been widely acknowledged and lifelong learning is a global imperative, it is understandable why the importance of learners’ autonomy is gaining even more significance. According to Benson and Voller (1997: 56), ―learning is more effective when learners are active in the learning process, assuming responsibility for their learning and participating in the decisions which affect it‖.
Furthermore, autonomous learning becomes increasingly necessary to university students as Malcolm and Rindfleisch (2003:2) pointed out in their study ―students arrive at university with the potential to be autonomous in their learning‖. Enhancing students’ autonomous learning is also a matter of concern to not only the researcher in particular but also a university in Vinh in general since from my researcher’s observation, in the traditional teaching context of Vietnam, Vietnamese students tend to be passive in their learning. Realizing that writing a portfolio can be one of the most effective ways to help students enhance their autonomous learning urged and inspired the researcher to implement the action research ―Developing autonomy for first- year English major students at a university in Vinh through Portfolio Writing Activity‖. For the purpose of research ethics, the university would be named ―X‖.
1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Aims of the study The main aim of the study is investigating the extent to which portfolio writing implementation helps students raise their learning autonomy not only in writing but also in their learning. Scope of the study The study focuses on three dimensions of learner autonomy, including learning management, learning strategies and content. The study was carried out as an action research in an undergraduate writing class at a university in Vietnam where the researcher was the teacher.
The objective of the paper can be summarized into a research question as below: To what extent does the use of portfolio writing enhance the first-year students’ learning autonomy at Foreign Language Department, in University X? 1. Significance of the study As one of the pioneering studies on developing learners’ autonomy via portfolio writing in that university, the paper would benefit related populations including English teachers and policymakers there. This study would provide useful information for policymakers and teachers to consider applying portfolio writing in the curriculum for the first-year students. Furthermore, the study would be a reliable reference to other researchers who share the same interest in developing learners’ autonomy.
Further research would be carried out after limitations of this study are considered. Methods of the study The paper is an action research which employs both qualitative and quantitative methods. Specifically, the first-year class which the researcher is teaching currently would join the implementation of portfolio writing which would be integrated as home- 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com assigned task in the current curriculum of the class. Each week, the students would write a reflection about portfolio implementation and their learning autonomy.
The students’ reflections would be collected at the end of the semester. A survey and interviews would be made to collect the students’ opinions toward the influence of portfolio writing on their learning autonomy. Structure of the thesis The study includes five chapters as follows: Chapter 1 sketches the overall picture of the whole study. The rationale, aims and objectives, significance and methods of the research are presented.
Chapter 2 serves as the theoretical frame for the study. Key terms such as portfolio and learners’ autonomy would be explained. Furthermore, the critical reviews of the related studies are conducted. Chapter 3 provides the methodology to carry out the paper.
Specifically, the research method, the participants and instruments, data collection procedure are put forward. Chapter 4 consists of findings and discussion of the paper which provides the detailed outcome of the data analysis procedure. Chapter 5 provides the summary of the research outcome, the pedagogical suggestions, the limitation of the study. 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter provides background for the study.
Key terms such as “learning autonomy”, “portfolio writing” and so on are adequately explained. Also, the research gives the brief review of related studies. Definitions of learner autonomy The concept of autonomy has been mentioned a lot over the past few years and has become a heated topic for discussion recently in Vietnam. Many theorists and scholars define autonomy in many different ways, which makes the results in this field quite immense.
This study, however, only reviews the literature concerning autonomy in studying English as the second language. One of the earliest advocates of autonomy in language teaching, Holec (1981:7), defines autonomy as ―the ability to take charge of one’s own learning‖. According to this author, autonomous learners understand the purpose of their learning, share in the setting of learning goals, take initiatives in planning and executing learning activities, and regularly review their learning and evaluate its effectiveness. From this point of view, autonomy is understood to involve activities and attitudes that students possess, and then develop to various degrees, among which are learning strategies.
There is also a broad agreement among many other scholars to Holec’s ideas. Nunan (1997:193) and Benson (2001:56) share the same idea that autonomy implies a capacity to exercise over one’s own learning. Dickinson (1987) states that autonomy is a ―situation in which the learner is totally responsible for all of the decisions concerned with his or her learning and implementation of those decisions.‖ From this perspective, being an autonomous 4 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com learner requires responsibility for planning and organizing his/her learning and being able to evaluate his/her learning process and adapting modification if needed. Also, the role of language teacher would change from a teacher to an information provider, counselor or assessor.
According to Richards and Schmidt (2010:297), this term is defined as ―the principle that learners should be encouraged to assume a maximum amount of responsibility for what they learn and how they learn it.