VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

*********************

NGUYỄN THỊ THUÝ

ADAPTING WRITING ACTIVITIES IN ENGLISH 11 TO MOTIVATE
11
TH
GRADERS AT DUONG AN HIGH SCHOOL TO LEARN ENGLISH
WRITING SKILL

(THIẾT CHỈNH MỘT SỐ HOẠT ĐỘNG VIẾT TRONG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA
TIẾNG ANH 11 ĐỂ KHUYẾN KHÍCH HỌC SINH TRƯỜNG THPT ĐƯỜNG
AN HỌC KĨ NĂNG VIẾT)

M.A.MINOR THESIS
Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 601410 M.A.MINOR THESIS
Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 601410
Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Thơm Thơm, MA
Hanoi, 2011

iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching
MOET: The Ministry of Education and Training
ESL/ EFL: English as a Second Language or a Foreign Language
ELT (English Language Teaching)

v
LIST OF TABLES and Figures

Table 1:

vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION……………………………………………………………… ……. …….i
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………… ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………… iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ……………………………………………… iv
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ………………………………………………………v
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………… vi
PART A: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………… … ….… 1
1. Rationale for the study…………………………………………………………… … 1
2. Research questions …………………………………………………………………….2
3. Aims of the study ……………………………………………………………………. 2
4. Scope of the study…………………………………………………………………… 2
5. Methods of the study………………………… …………………………. ………… 2
6. Design of the study……………………………………………………………………. 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT………………………………………………………………4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………… 4
1. An Overview of Writing…………………………………………………………… 4
1.1. Definitions of writing………………………………………………………………… 4
1.2. Roles of writing……………………………………………………………………… 4
1.3. Approaches to teaching writing…………………………………………………… 6
1.4. Writing teaching procedure………………………………………………………… 9
2. An Overview of Motivation ………………………………………………………… 9
2.1 Definitions of motivation…………………………………………………………… 9
2.2 Roles of motivation…………………………………………………………………. 10
2.3. Types of Motivation…………………………………………………………………. 10
3. Materials Evaluation…………………………………………………………………. 13
3.1. The concepts of materials evaluation…………………………………………… 13
3.2. The reasons for materials evaluation……………………………………………… 13
3.3. Models for evaluation………………………………………………………………. 13

3.7. Follow-up student interview…………………………………………………… 44
PART C: CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………… 45
1.1. Summary of the study……………………………………………………………….45
1.2. Implications…………………………………………………………………………45
1.3. Limitations of the study …………………………………………………………….46
1.4. Suggestions for further study ……………………………………………………….46
REFERENCES …………………………………………………………………………47.
APPENDICES 1
Part A: Introduction
1. Rationale of the study
The introduction of new English 10, 11, 12 textbook to school curriculum in 2006,
2007 and 2008 has marked a dramatic change in the way English is taught. Along with
three skills, namely, speaking, listening, reading, writing has been put in priority and
integrated in the textbook.
Although the books have shown a great deal of improvement as compared with
the old series of grammar-based it seems that not all activities or tasks in the books,
especially in writing part are suitable to the different teaching and learning contexts of
different localities within Vietnam.
After 5 years teaching new English 11 at Duong An high school, I find out that in
comparison with other three skills, writing is considered the most complicated to teach and
still remains neglected due to students‟ low level proficiency, time constraints and low
motivation. When students write, they find themselves confused with word choice,
grammatical use, organization and generation of ideas. They tend to translate ideas from
mother tongue into English, express ideas in long sentences, and are not aware of different
kinds of writing, thus making them unable to write in real life. Because of limited
background knowledge, they often feel bored and do not want to write. Naturally, teaching
English writing in upper-secondary schools is a challenging job for many English teachers

1. What are teachers‟ and students' attitudes towards teaching and learning writing
at Duong An high school?
2. How do the adapted activities help motivate students at Duong An high school in
writing lessons?
4. Scope of the study
There is a variety of aspects affecting students‟ motivation in class activities so
there exist numerous methods to improve students‟ involvement. However, it is not my
attention to cover all of them because of time and length constraint of the study.
Adaptation of several writing activities in English 11 is focused on and tested in class 11A
at Duong An high school. As the result, the samples of the study were restricted to 4
teachers and 40 students at 11th form at Duong An high school.
5. Methods of the study
The method employed in this study is a quasi- experimental research to identify the
teachers' and students' attitude towards teaching and learning writing skill. After that found

3
out the reasons why teachers should adapt activities in English 11 to motivate students at
Duong An high school in writing lesson. The study attempts to find out whether the
adapted activities can motivate students or not.
Data were collected by means of textbook evaluation, interviews, questionnaires,
and observations and experiment. Concerning interviews, 4 teachers who have ever taught
English 11 were involved in the study. Survey questionnaires were conducted among 40
students from two classes at the school.
6. Design of the study
This minor thesis is divided into three main parts.
Part A, INTRODUCTION, presents the rationale, the aims, scope, methods, and
design of the study. The research questions are also mentioned in this part.
Part B, DEVELOPMENT, consists of three following chapters:
Chapter one, Literature Review, presents various concepts most relevant to the
research topic such as definitions of writing, roles of writing, approaches to writing

a productive skill, so it is writing that provides students with chances to put the language
itself and practice communicative skills at the same time. Through the act of writing
students will realize what they are already good at and what they still need to learn to
become better.
1.2. Roles of writing
Writing emerges with its own functions and brings along communicative code of
the writers. When making a piece of writing, the writer implies a message or a certain
purpose. In the modern world, writing (written language) serves a range of functions in
everyday life. As Nunan (1991:84) aptly points out, writing is:
(i) Primarily for action: public signs (on roads and stations), product labels and
instructions (on food, tools or toy purchased), recipes, maps, television and radio
guides, bills, menus, telephone directories, etc.
(ii) Primarily for social contact: personal correspondence, letters, postcards,
greeting cards.
(iii) Primarily for information: newspapers and magazines, non- fiction books
(textbooks, public notices, advertisement, guidebooks and travel literature, etc.)

5
(iv) Primarily for entertainment: light magazines, comic strips, fiction books,
poetry and drama, film subtitles, games including computer games.
In classroom, teaching and learning writing also plays an important role. Through
writing, learners are able to share ideas, arouse feelings, persuade and convince other
people. We are able to discover and articulate ideas in the way that only writing makes
possible. Therefore, writing has always occupied a place in the language syllabus.
Discussing about this issue, White (1981, p. 1) points out a number of reasons why writing
merits a place in the language syllabus as follows:
(i) Writing remains the commonest way of examining students‟ performance in
English (all public examinations include a composition). Consequently, ability to
write remains a key to examination success.
(ii) In the eyes of both parents and students, ability to write may be associated with

Raimes (1983, pp. 5- 10) presents six following approaches to teaching writing:
(i) The Control - to- Free Approach
The Control- to- Free Approach in writing is sequential. In this approach, writing is
considered as a reinforcement means of speech and is used to master grammatical or
syntactic rules. At lower level, students are often given sentence- level exercises or
controlled compositions to imitate, copy or manipulate. Students, therefore, make few
mistakes. Only at high or advanced level are students allowed to try some free
compositions, in which they can express their own ideas.
In short, this approach emphasizes accuracy rather than fluency. Syntax and
mechanics are main stresses of the approach.
(ii) The Free- Writing Approach
Contrast to the Control- to- Free Approach, the Free- Writing Approach focuses
more on fluency, and quantity of writing than quality. Students are assigned a vast amount
of free writing on given topics with only minimal correction of errors. They are allowed to
write freely without worrying about grammar and spelling. Content and fluency are taken
into account first.
(iii) The Paragraph- Pattern Approach
Different from the two approaches mentioned above, the Paragraph- Pattern
Approach stresses on paragraph organization. Students copy a model paragraph, analyze its
form and then write a parallel one. In this approach, students are provided with such kinds
of exercises as sentence ordering, sentence inserting or sentence deleting, etc.
(iv) The Grammar- Syntax- Organization Approach

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The name „the Grammar- Syntax- Organization Approach‟ fully reveals the
characteristics of the approach. Writing cannot be seen as composed of separate skills
which are learned one by one. Students need to pay attention to organization while they
also work on the necessary grammar and syntax. For example, to write a clear set of
instructions on how to use a phone card, the writer needs more than the appropriate
vocabulary. He needs the simple forms of verbs, an organizational plan based on

rewriting
(4) give students time to write and rewrite
(5) place central importance on the process of revision
(6) let students discover what they want to say as they write
(7) give students feedback throughout the composing process (not just the final
product) as they attempt to bring their expression closer and closer to attention
(8) encourage feedback from both the instructor and peers
(9) include individual conferences between teacher and students during the process
of composition
There are various approaches to teaching writing as mentioned. It is true to say that
there is not necessarily any „right‟ or „best‟ way to teach writing skills.
Comparing the Product Approach and Process Approach, Steele summarizes their
differences in the table below:
Process writing
Product writing
* text as a resource for comparison
* ideas as starting point

* more than one draft
* more global, focus on purpose, theme,
text type, i.e., reader is emphasized
* collaborative
* emphasis on creative process
* imitate model text
*organization of ideas is more important
than ideas themselves
* one draft
* features highlighted including controlled
practice of those features
* individual

(i) Pre- writing
- Exploiting the model text in terms of form, vocabulary, grammar, organization, etc.
- Defining the task such as describe , write a letter of
- Limit the topic
- Generate the ideas
(ii) While- writing
- Draft
- Revise
- Write the final version
2. An Overview of Motivation
2.1 Definitions of motivation

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There have been so far many researches on the theory of motivation. Each author has
his/her own way of explaining what motivation is since they look at motivation from
different angles. However, motivation is generally defined as an abstract concept used to
describe the willingness of a person to expand effort to reach a particular goal
According to Carol (1962), motivation decides the amount of time a learner will spend on
the task of language learning. She claims: “The more motivation a learner has, the more
time he or she will spend on learning an aspect of a second language” (Carol, 1962).
Crookes and Schmidt (1991) define motivation in terms of students' interest in and
enthusiasm for the materials and activities used in class, their persistence with the learning
task as indicated by levels of concentration and enjoyment. Learning is only effective if
students enjoy activities and work hard.
Among what have been mentioned, Crookes and Schmidt‟s definition is chosen to use in
this thesis because of two reasons. First, it is directly related to the process of teaching and
learning language which emphasizes the important roles of students. Theoretically, when
students are interested in the activities and are persistent with the learning tasks, they will
get better results in learning. Second, it is similar to what would be studied in the research
project that the researcher wants to examine the students‟ interest, satisfaction and

become familiar with the society in which the language is used (Falk, 1978). This
kind of motivation is considered a key component in assisting learners to develop
some level of proficiency in L2 when they become residents in the community in
which the target language is used in social interactions.
According to Gardner and Lambert (1974: 98) “An integrative orientation involves
an interest in learning an L2 because of a sincere and personal interest in the people
and culture represented by the other language group”. It occurs when learners wish to
identify with the culture of the L2 group
2.3.1.2. Instrumental motivation
In contrast to integrative motivation is instrumental motivation. This is characterized
by the desire to obtain something practical from the study of L2 (Hudson, 2000).
With this kind of motivation, the purpose of L2 acquisition is more utilitarian. Ellis
(1994: 75) mentioned “some functional reasons such as to pass an examination, to
get a better job, or to get a place at university. These reasons motivate learners to
learn an L2 because it opens up educational and economic opportunities for them”.

12
Instrumental motivation is often a characteristic of L2 acquisition, where little or no
social integration of the learner into a community using the target language takes
place.
Littlewood (1998) replicating Gardner and Lambert (1972), concluded “ A learner
with instrumental motivation is more interested in how the second language can be a
useful instrument towards furthering other goals, such as gaining a necessary
qualification or improving employment prospects” (1998: 57). It occurs when
learners‟ goals for learning an L2 are functional. With an instrumental motivation,
learners can be successful in learning an L2. It is likely that incentives like money
can help learning, but the effects maybe cease as soon as the reward stops.
In short, Learners can have both integrative and instrumental motivation. In some
cases, integrative may be more powerful in stimulating L2 learning, in some other
situations, however, instrumental counts far more. In addition, the social contexts in

solution? There is no absolute good or bad- only degrees of fitness for the required
purpose”.
From the above definitions, it can be inferred that materials evaluation involves the
determination of what needs to be evaluated, the objectives and requirements for the
materials, and the judgments of the value of the materials being evaluated in relation to the
objectives and requirements determined.
3.2. The reasons for materials evaluation
There are two main reasons for carrying out materials evaluation. Firstly, there may be a
need to choose among the materials available the most suitable ones to use for a particular
situation. Secondly, there can be a need for materials evaluation to determine whether the
material which has been chosen works for that situation after it has been used for a period
of time (Ellis, 1997).
Robinson (1991) adds, evaluation can be used as part of quality control. Through
evaluation, we can know about the advantages and disadvantages as well as the
effectiveness of the being used materials. Then we can decide whether the materials can be
reused or whether it needs to be adapted to meet the need of the particular teaching
situation or we need to change it absolutely.
In short, the findings of materials evaluation will provide input for responsible people to
evaluate the effectiveness of the materials.
3.3. Models for evaluation
According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), evaluation is a process of matching needs to
available solutions. Thus, the evaluation process is divided into four steps as follows:

14
- Defining criteria
- Subjective analysis
- Objective analysis
- Matching
The above steps are presented in the following diagram as the following:


How does the material being evaluated
realize the criteria?
MATCHING
How far does the material match
your needs?

15
Another author, Littlejohn (1998) introduces the framework as follows:
Figure 2: A preliminary framework for materials analysis and action

publication to the target situation of use? ACTION
Adopt the materials
Reject the materials
Adapt the materials
Supplement the materials
Make the materials a critical object 16
3.4. Criteria for evaluation
Various scholars have suggested different ways to help evaluators become more systematic
and objective in their method of evaluation by using a checklist.
Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p.99-104) suggest five evaluation criteria for objective and
subjective analysis as follows:
- Audience: the learners and the materials intended for
- Aims: the aims of the course and the aims of the materials
- Content: language description, language points, proportion of work on each macro-skill,
text-types, subject-matter areas, level of knowledge, types of topics, treatment,
organization of content within the course units, sequence of content throughout the course,
sequence of content within a unit
- Methodology: theory of learning, learners‟ attitudes, kinds of exercises, teaching-
learning techniques, aids, guidance/ support for teaching, the flexibility of materials
- Other criteria: price, quantities, availability
Another list of evaluation criteria is presented by Sheldon (1988). It consists of: rationale,
availability, user definition, layout/ graphics, accessibility, linkage, selection/grading,
physical characteristics, appropriacy, authenticity, sufficiency, cultural bias, education
validity, stimulus/ practice revision, flexibility, guidance, and overall value for money. He

teaching practice have become better informed by research and experience. There are two
most frequently cited purposes for adaptation:
1. to make the material more suitable for the circumstances in which it is being used,
i.e. to mould it to the needs and interests of learners, the teachers' own capabilities
and such constraints as time, or as Mc Donough and Shaw (1993:85) put it: “to
maximize the appropriacy of teaching materials in context, by changing some of
the internal characteristics of a course book to better suit our particular
circumstances”
2. to compensate for any intrinsic deficiencies in the materials, such as linguistic
inaccuracies, out-of-datedness, lack of authenticity (Madsen and Bowen 1978) or
lack of variety.
Looking deeper into McDonough and Shaw‟s definition of purpose we see that
maximizing the appropriacy of teaching materials (by, e.g., modifying them in such a way
that they seem more relevant to learners' interests and needs) is important because it can
stimulate motivation, and increased motivation is in turn likely to lead to a classroom
atmosphere more conductive to learning. In fact, when teachers make changes to a course

18
book “to better suit our particular purposes” what teachers are really trying to do is to
improve students‟ participation to increase the effectiveness of the learning experience.
4.3. Techniques for adaptation
4.3.1 Adding
The notion of addition is that materials are supplemented by putting more into them, while
taking into account the practical effect on time allocation. First, we can certainly add in
this quantitative way by the technique of extending “This means that the techniques are
being applied within the methodological framework of the original materials: in other
words, the model is not itself changed” (McDough and Shaw, 1993: 89). We can do this in
the following situation: A second reading passage parallel to the one provided is helpful in
reinforcing the key linguistic features- tenses, sentence structures, vocabulary, cohesive
devices – of the first text. Second, more far-reaching perspective on addition of materials

becomes easier to see how different part fit together. However, texts, most often reading
passages are applied this technique. Usually, the emphasis has been on changing various
sentences- bound elements to match the text more closely to the proficiency level of a
particular group of learners.
4.3.5. Re-ordering
This procedure refers to the possibility of putting the parts of a course book in a different
order. This may mean adjusting the sequence of presentation within a unit, or taking units
in a different sequence from that originally intended.
4.4. Levels of adaptation
Textbook adaptation can be done at three levels. The first level is macro
adaptation, which is ideally done before the language program begins. After comparing
what is covered in a textbook and what is required by the syllabus or examination, the
teacher may find that certain areas or even whole unit of the book can be omitted, and
certain contents need to be supplemented.
The second level of adaptation is adapting a unit. This could be reordering the
activities, combining activities, omitting activities, rewriting or supplementing exercise
material, etc. Unit adaptation helps to make the classroom teaching more smooth and
cohesive. It also helps the teacher to better fulfill the aims of a unit.
The third level is adaptation of specific activities in a unit. Occasionally an activity
I regarded as valuable, but it is not well-designed or it is not feasible in particular class. If
the teacher does not want to give up the activity, he or she needs to adapt it.
5. Summary
To conclude, this chapter has so far touched upon issues relating to the topic of the
study. It has discussed definitions of writing, roles of writing, approaches to writing