VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE USING THE TASK-BASED APPROACH IN TEACHING AND LEARNING EFL WRITING SKILLS: AN ACTION RESEARCH IN SUBURBAN YOUNG LEARNER CLASSES IN HO CHI MINH CITY A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master‟s degree in TESOL By MAI TAN PHAT Supervised by NGUYEN THI HONG THAM, Ph. HO CHI MINH CITY, JULY 2022 TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY. v RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS. vii LIST OF TABLES.
viii LIST OF FIGURES. ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .1 Background to the study .3 Aims of the study .4 Significance of the study .5 Scope of the study .6 Organization of the thesis chapters. 6 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .1 Teaching EFL writing skills to young learners .1 The definitions of writing and writing skills.2 Writing as a product and writing as a process .4 Young learners and writing learning.5 Factors affecting young learners‟ EFL writing .6 Approaches to teaching EFL writing skills to young learners .2 The task-based approach .1 An overview of tasks .2 Development of the task-based approach .3 Frameworks for the use of the task-based approach .4 Principles and guidelines for the implementation of the task- based approach .5 Rationale for using the task-based approach in teaching EFL writing .3 Previous studies on the use of the task-based approach in young learners‟ EFL writing skills teaching and learning.4 Conceptual framework of the study .1 Context of the study .1 Reasons for the choice of qualitative action research design .2 Applying the action research design to the study .2 Students‟ writing samples .3 First semi-structured focus-group interview .4 Students‟ qualitative questionnaire .5 Teacher‟s focus-group interview .5 Data collection procedure .6 Data analysis schema.
44 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS .1 The preliminary cycle .1 The first two writing samples .2 Data from teacher‟s journal .3 The first focus-group interview .4 Discussions on the preliminary cycle .2 The first intervention and cycle 1 .1 Action plan for cycle 1 .2 Three writing samples in Cycle 1 .3 Data from teacher‟s journal .4 Discussion of Cycle 1 .3 The second intervention and Cycle 2 .1 Action plan of cycle 2 .2 Three writing samples in Cycle 2 .3 Data from teacher‟s journal .4 Data from questionnaires .5 The second focus-group interview .6 Discussions of Cycle 2 .4 Answers to the research questions .1 The assistance of the task-based approach.2 The strengths and weaknesses of the approach .1 Summary of the study .2 Implications of the study .3 Limitations of the study .4 Recommendations for further research. 81 Appendix 1: Writing tasks. 81 Appendix 2: Lesson plans. First focus-group interview form.
Second focus-group interview form. 111 iv STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I certify that the thesis entitled “USING THE TASK-BASED APPROACH IN TEACHING AND LEARNING EFL WRITING SKILLS: AN ACTION RESEARCH IN SUBURBAN YOUNG LEARNER CLASSES IN HO CHI MINH CITY” is the product of my own work. The thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degrees or diplomas in any other institutions. The thesis's content, except where clearly acknowledged within the text, has not been published by other authors.
Ho Chi Minh City, July 2022 Mai Tấn Phát v RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Mai Tấn Phát, being the candidate for the degree of Master in TESOL at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master's Thesis deposited in the library. In terms of these conditions, I agree that my thesis deposited in the library should be accessible for the purpose of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses. Ho Chi Minh City, July 2022 Mai Tấn Phát vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Nguyễn Thị Hồng Thắm, for her wholehearted guidance, timely assistance, and continuous encouragement throughout the process of doing this thesis.
I would have been lost and the completion of this thesis would not be possible without her supervision. Next, my thankfulness goes to all the instructors and the staff of the Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh city. They have inspired and provided me with valuable lessons, which not only broadened my horizon but also helped me grow up as a whole person. I also wish to thank my friends and my classmates in the class of 2018A for their encouragement, material sharing, and helpful advice whenever I am in need.
Last but not least, my heartfelt thanks must go to my family and my siblings, who are always by my side and support me. Without them, I would not have the courage and determination to complete this thesis. vii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 The characteristics of EFL young learners and older learners.2 Ellis‟s framework for task-based lessons .1 Summary of the instruments employed .2 Summary of the tasks used in the study .3 Mark schema for A2 writing level .1 Summary of results of students‟ writing in the preliminary cycle .2 Summary of results of students‟ writing in Cycle 1 .1 Summary of results of students‟ writing in Cycle 2. 63 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.
Willis‟s framework for task-based approach .2 The conceptual framework of the study .1 The cyclical model of the study. Thematic network for data analysis. 44 ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT: Communicative language teaching EFL: English as a foreign language TBI: Task-based instruction TBLT: Task-based language teaching YLs: Young learners Ss: Students x ABSTRACT Recent years have witnessed an upsurge of attention towards teaching EFL writing to young learners. Learning writing is an essential, integral, and delightful part of foreign language learning; however, to teach writing skills to young learners effectively demands much effort from EFL teachers.
The advent of the task-based approach has revolutionized English language teaching and become one of the most popular English teaching approaches. Nevertheless, whether the use of the task-based approach is effective and practical in improving young learners‟ EFL writing skills remains a question. An action research consisting of 3 cycles were conducted during 22 weeks to improve the young learners‟ writing skills and the researcher‟s teaching practice in the use of the task-based approach. The study also explored the learners‟ perceptions towards the implementation of the approach, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the approach.
The two classes with a total of 20 young learners aged from 9 to 12 were the sample of the study. Data were collected through four research instruments: teacher‟s journals, students‟ sample papers, qualitative questionnaires, and focus group interviews. The findings indicate that the use of the task-based approach greatly assisted teaching and learning EFL writing as it helped young learners improve their writing skills. In addition, the implementation of the approach received positive feedback from young learners.
The study also identifies some of the benefits and disadvantages of the approach in teaching EFL writing skills in young learner classes. Moreover, the implications of the study and the directions for further research on the use of the task-based approach are presented in the final chapter of the study. Keywords: writing skills, young learners, the task-based approach xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter provides an overview of the study, including the background to the study, the statement of problems, the aims of the study, the research questions, the significance of the study, the scope of the study, and the organization of the thesis chapters.1 Background to the study English has now gained dominance in global communication and has been considered a world language. English is the only language that is widely spoken all over the world, and it is the most commonly studied foreign language in the world.
English is used for various purposes such as business, finance and commerce, international relationships, higher education, employment, travel and tourism, scientific research, engineering, technology, and so on. The ultimate aim of learning English language skills is to be able to communicate and contribute to the goals of industrialization and modernization of our country in this integration era. Thus, to achieve this, students are supposed to be good at all language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Each skill is equally important among these four language skills, and English language learners should never ignore or neglect any of these since they are interlinked.
However, writing seems the most challenging skill to acquire for many learners of EFL learners because of the complexity of writing in spelling, vocabulary, grammatical structures, cohesion, coherence, and other factors. For young learners (YLs), learning writing skills is even more challenging due to their specific characteristics and learning styles that are distinctive to other age groups. For children to be well-prepared for the future as international citizens, to make their voices heard, and be able to communicate, becoming confident writers in different languages, especially in English, is essential. Scott and Ytreberg (1990, as cited in Nunan (2011)) argue that learning writing is not only a good thing but also a crucial, integral, and enjoyable part of foreign language 1 learning.
Scott and Ytreberg (1990, p.69) highlight some reasons why young language learners should learn writing skills: “It adds another physical dimension to the learning process. Hands are added to the eyes and ears. It lets pupils express their personalities. Even guided activities can include choices for pupil.
Writing activities help to consolidate learning in other skills areas. Balanced activities train the language and help the memory. Particularly as pupils progress in the language, writing activities allow for conscious development of language. Writing is valuable itself.
There is a special feeling about seeing your work in print and enormous satisfaction in having written something that you want to say.” For the abovementioned benefits of teaching and learning writing, recent years have witnessed an upsurge of attention towards teaching EFL writing to young learners. More and more writing tasks are included in EFL textbooks and examinations for young learners (Nunan, 2011). For example, the Cambridge YLE Movers and Flyers examinations (since 2018) and the Cambridge KET examination (since 2020) have their formats updated with additional writing tasks (Cambridge English Assessment, 2019). Writing skills is not only a way for young learners to express their ideas, but also help them to be more logical in their thoughts, creative and artistic.
However, due to the fact that writing is a complex skill for young learners to develop and language teachers find it challenging to effectively teach writing skills to young learners, it tends to be neglected in most EFL young learner classes (Anderson and Arnold, 2016). That issue raises an urge for appropriate approaches to teaching EFL writing skills to YLs. Since the 80s, the emergence of the task-based approach, also known as task-based language teaching (TBLT) or task-based instruction (TBI), has revolutionized English language teaching and has become a thriving field of investigation. Task-based approach not only enables learners to use the language 2 communicatively through the performance and attainment of tasks, but also promotes learner autonomy and motivates learners through meaningful language use (Nunan, 2004).
In teaching and learning writing, the task-based approach has been theoretically and empirically proven to be an effective approach since it provides both teachers and learners with multiple advantages (Long, 2015). As aforementioned, for the fact that teaching EFL writing skills to young learners are challenging, using the task-based approach is a promising strategy for EFL teachers to enhance their teaching practice, and improve the students‟ writing skills.