QUANG NHAT + PHUONG DUNG + HONG OANH – REFERENCES+APPENDIX NGÂN HÀNG NHÀ NƯỚC VIỆT NAM TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGÂN HÀNG THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH ĐỀ TÀI CẤP CƠ SỞ Localised Practices and Challenges of Online Learning in Teaching Academic Writing MÃ SỐ: CHỦ NHIỆM ĐỀ TÀI TS. NGUYỄN QUANG NHẬT THÀNH VIÊN ĐỀ TÀI ThS. NGUYỄN NGỌC PHƯƠNG DUNG ThS. NGUYỄN HỒNG OANH Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, tháng 03/2023 DECLARATION We hereby declare that this paper represents our own work and it has not been previously submitted to HCM University of Banking or any other institutions in application for admission to a degree, diploma or other qualifications.
2 QUANG NHAT + PHUONG DUNG + HONG OANH – ABSTRACT ABSTRACT Technology and the outspread of the COVID-19 pandemic have initiated widespread reform in professional and academic domains at higher education. Specifically, the educational settings in many parts of the world have been changing dramatically from the traditional face-to-face environment to the distinctive rise of e- learning whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. For Vietnamese educators taking charge of academic writing modules, these changes have posed some intriguing questions for our understanding of foreign language education in the digital age: (1) how tech tools were exploited to transform the teaching practices to enhance learners’ writing skills? and (2) what the challenges are faced by Vietnamese students during the course of online learning in their academic writing classes? By using questionnaire surveys with 256 participants and in-depth interviews with 29 English- majored students in three different universities, this paper displays how the realities of localised technological practices were configured to adapt to the virtual writing classrooms and what challenges were faced by Vietnamese learners during this special era. Keywords: Online learning, Learners’ autonomy, Tech tools, Localised practices, Challenges.
iii QUANG NHAT + PHUONG DUNG + HONG OANH – TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. Research background and Problem statements. Scope of the study .3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW. Definition of academic writing.
Training of academic writing. E-learning and technology in language learning. Characteristics of effective E-learning. E-learning during the Covid-19 pandemic and post-Covid.
Technology in language education for E-learning. Students’ perceptions of tech tools in E-learning. Research design and research participants. Data instruments and analysis.
Reliability and Validity. Ethical Issues and Considerations. 20 iv QUANG NHAT + PHUONG DUNG + HONG OANH – TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH FINDINGS. Localised practice to foster learners’ academic writing capabilities 21 4.
Challenges faced by Vietnamese learners during the online learning of academic writing classes. Dicussions and Recommendations. How tech tools were exploited to transform the teaching practices to bring about beneficial impacts in education. Challenges of tech tools during the online writing education process.
Key contributions of the research. Limitations and Recommendations. 51 v QUANG NHAT + PHUONG DUNG + HONG OANH – LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Exploited technological instruments. 22 LIST OF TABLES Table 2-1: Characteristics of effective online learning environment .8 Table 3-1: Distribution of participants.
16 Table 3-2: Relationship between research questions and instruments. 16 vii QUANG NHAT + PHUONG DUNG + HONG OANH – CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Introduction This chapter introduces the research background and problem statements which lay the foundation for the conduct of the study. The next sections highlight research questions and research objectives.
Finally, the chapter discusses the scope of the study. Research background and Problem statements The use of the technology as an effective instructional tool in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom has increased with the rapid growth of ample tech tools over the past few decades. In 2015, UNESCO released their overall vision for 21st- century learning, regarding incorporating digitalisation as a key focus in teaching and learning practices (University of Oxford International Strategy Office, 2015). Thus, this emerging idea advocates for greater and appropriate use of technology to promote personalisation, collaboration, and communication for developing learners’ core skills and competences within the contemporary educational paradigm.
Network technologies , as a result, have recently begun to influence both teachers and students to support collaborative E-learning. Such a shift became more prevalent during the Covid-19 outbreak when all teaching and learning practices in many countries were delivered online. The social distancing policies and the lockdown phase have resulted in fewer social connections, closures of ample educational centers, and an increase in online classes all over the country in 2020 and 2021 (Kusmaryono et al. In addition, it is not known whether educators will be required to continue employing digital teaching methods and tools after the end of the COVID-19 crisis.
Consequently, a number of practitioners have attempted various digitalised measures to provide better learning 1 QUANG NHAT + PHUONG DUNG + HONG OANH – CHAPTER 1 outcomes during this special era (Cicha et al. Besides, the shift to online teaching, for instance, forced the universities to use video conferencing tools as a solution that could ensure the effectiveness of distance learning. For Vietnamese educators taking charge of academic writing modules, there are still struggles with the digitalisation, online learning, and technological transformation so that effective teaching and learning methods could be found to adapt to the new situational context (Nikou & Maslov, 2021). However, empirical studies in teaching academic writing during the Covid-19 pandemic is scarce, especially in the Vietnamese setting.
Hence, it is useful to understand how this instruction mode could be exploited via various tech tools to support the learning process. Moreover, no formal studies have been conducted systematically to address the challenges faced by learners during the course of academic writing within the digital environment. Therefore, a study is also needed to examine what challenges are actually faced by Vietnamese learners in a specific subject, and how these elements mediate students’ performance. This needs to be established first and before any recommendations can be made as a contribution towards the literature of online learning for better implementation.
Research objectives This study aims to: 1. identify what tech tools were used and how they were exploited in a specific Vietnamese academic learning environment (HUB) to help learners study academic writing. contribute to theoretical research in academic writing and technology-assisted language learning, with particular emphasis on the real challenges faced by Vietnamese learners during the implementation of these tech tools. 2 QUANG NHAT + PHUONG DUNG + HONG OANH – CHAPTER 1 1.
Research questions This study aimed to answer two following research questions: 1. How tech tools were exploited to transform the teaching practice and to help learners study academic writing at HUB? 2. What challenges were faced by HUB students during the course of online learning in their academic writing classes? 1. Scope of the study The scope of this study is to investigate the implementation of tech tools in academic writing classes at HUB and explore challenges faced by Vietnamese undergraduate students.
Therefore, it is meaningful to see what tech tools were actually adopted and how they were used in various writing classes by different teachers. Moreover, this study analysed challenges of tech tools, critically evaluating both quantitatively and qualitatively to define the true values of technology so that some recommendations could be made for the better use of technology. 3 QUANG NHAT + PHUONG DUNG + HONG OANH – CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2. Introduction This chapter contains three main parts.
First, it provides a brief overview of academic writing in terms of definition and the training of academic writing. Then, the chapter provides information about E-learning and its beneficial impacts in educational setting with the use of tech tools. Definition of academic writing Academic writing is a productive skill when studying English, and it is more complicated than it seems at first, and often seems to be the hardest of the skills, even for native speakers of a language, since it involves not just a graphic representation of speech, but the development and presentation of thoughts in a structured way. Here are some of the micro-skills involved in writing.
The writer needs to use the orthography correctly, including the script, spelling, punctuation conventions and the use of the correct forms of words. This may mean using forms that express the right tense, putting words together in correct word order; using vocabulary correctly; using the style appropriate to the genre and audience; making the main sentence constituents, such as subject, verb, and object, clear to the reader; making the main ideas distinct from supporting ideas or information, making the text coherent so that other people can follow the development of the ideas, judging how much background knowledge the audience has on the subject and making clear what it is assumed they don't know. Meanwhile, the proficiency levels identification includes looking at linguistic complexity, the amount and quality of speech or writing for a given situation; forms and 4 QUANG NHAT + PHUONG DUNG + HONG OANH – CHAPTER 2 conventions, the types and variety of grammatical structures, conventions, mechanics and fluency; and vocabulary usage; the specificity of words or phrases for a given context. Training of academic writing Writing skills are necessary and important especially in the area of literacy that supports comprehension, critical and creative thinking across content areas.
Students’ writers would require a structured and supportive environment to be able to practice and develop the habits and processes of successful writers. They have to develop in themselves writer’s habits and processes, apprenticing themselves to writers’ routines and rituals. Teachers of writing can provide assistance to this process through establishment of workshop-styled classroom where learning how to write would be modelled and taught in the context of ongoing and purposeful student work (Harvey & Lamb, 2002). In an organized writing classroom, students would be able to read and study a variety of genres, examine the work of published authors, and would be guided on use of the elements of the various genres in their own writing.
Students will be encouraged to create authentic products that reflect academic rigor for authentic purposes. The writing instructional strategies could be multifarious and provide all support to a quality-writing program. Several teachers demonstrate, guide and teach using these strategies in order to provide varying amounts of support based on the instructional purpose and student needs. The writing instructional strategies are classified into five levels of support and instruction and moves from the highest level of support or modelled writing to the lowest level of support or independent writing as students 5 QUANG NHAT + PHUONG DUNG + HONG OANH – CHAPTER 2 assume more and more of the responsibility for themselves (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996) as writers.
One type of writing instructional strategy that provides an opportunity for teachers to work with groups of students or an individual student on effective writing strategies that are determined to be important through observation of student behaviours and work is guided writing. Conferring with student groups or individuals on effective writing strategies and providing specific coaching based on student work and standards based rubrics. Further, conferring with teacher and peers about the writing process and products; guiding the process of writing and editing, providing instruction when needed, planning actively and constructing the text, including editing for a correct finished product are also included in teachers’ and students’ roles are considered teachers’ and students’ roles. In addition, another writing instructional strategy that provides an opportunity for students to practice using the writing skills and strategies supported through modelled, shared, interactive, and guided writing instruction pertains to independent writing.
Providing opportunities for students to practice writing in a variety of genre; writing for authentic purposes and in a variety of genres; conferring with students about their writing throughout the writing process; conferring with teacher and peers throughout the writing process towards publication of work, are included in both teacher and student roles.