1

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

ĐẶNG THỊ KIM OANH

A study on using group writing to improve writing skills for 10
th
form non -
English majors at Phan Boi Chau specializing high school

( Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng hoạt động viết theo nhóm nhằm
phát triển kỹ năng viết cho học sinh lớp 10 không chuyên
Tiếng Anh tại trường THPT chuyên Phan Bội Châu- Nghệ An)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Methodology
Code: 60.14.10

2

Abstract iii
Table of contents iv
List of abbreviations vii
List of tables and charts vii
Table of contents vii
PART A: INTRODUCTION 1
I. Rationales of the study 1
II. Aims of the study 2
III. Research questions 2
IV. Scope of the study 2
V. Methods of the study 3
VI. Significance of the study 3
VII. Design of the study 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 5
I.1. Communicative language teaching (CLT) 5
7 I.1.1. An overview of communicative language teaching (CLT) 5
I.1.2. Communicative activities 7
I.1.3. Group work in communicative language teaching 8
I.2. Overview of writing 9
I.2.1. Definitions of writing 9
I.2.2. Writing skills in foreign language teaching 9
I. 2.3. Approaches to writing skills in foreign language teaching 11
I.3. Group writing in foreign language teaching 14
I.3.1. What is Group writing? 14
I.3.2. Advantages of using group writing in improving writing skill for high school students. 15
I.3.3. Disadvantages of using group writing in improving writing skill for high

REFERENCES 49
APPENDICES I
9 Appendix 1: Questionnaire for students I
Appendix 2: Questionnaire for teachers III
Appendix 3: Particular samples of group writing activities used in Tieng Anh 10 V
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching
PBC: Phan Boi Chau
ELT: English Language Teaching

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1: Approaches to teaching writing skills 11
Table 2: Checklist of writing tasks in English textbook 10 22
Table 3: Students’ attitude toward English learning 25
Table 4: Benefits of using group writing in writing classes 28
Table 5: Students’ expectations of teachers’ using group writing 30
Table 6: Benefits of using group work in writing lessons 33
Table 7: How to group students 34
Table 8: Activities at which group writing is used 35
Table 9: Teachers’ solution to overcome their difficulties 36
Figure 1: Students’ perspectives towards writing class 25
Figure 2: Students’ view on writing lessons 26
Figure 3: Students’ opinions about the way they like to do writing in class 27
Figure 4: The frequency of using group work in writing lessons 27
Figure 5: The students’ attitude towards group writing 28
11 PART A: INTRODUCTION
I. Rationales
To get good results in teaching process is the expectation of all teachers. However,
the ways to achieve it are not always easy. This requires the teachers to have not only good
qualities, deep knowledge about their subjects but also suitable methods to adapt in
teaching.
In fact, in the late 20
th
century linguists, teachers and learners have witnessed the
“birth” of a popular way in teaching foreign language, the so-called “Communicative
Language Teaching”. The approach focuses most on improving four basic skills for
learners: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Equally important to others, writing
skill has been currently paid much attention to because writing is regarded as highly
significant in civilized societies. Through writing human beings transmit their needs,
desires, problems, and thoughts as well as histories, cultures, social evolutions,
advancement in technologies, etc…Writing is a means of connecting the past, the present
and the future. It can transcend space and time giving it the qualities of being eternal and
international.
Realizing that fact, teachers should do more researches to improve writing skill for
learners, especially the high school students. Traditionally, teachers often let students work
individually or in pairs. This led to both good and bad consequences. The good one is that
the student is more independent to express his ideas and knowledge. However, it is no
doubt that his writing contains a lot of errors, thus the result is unpleasing.
To meet the demand of learners of English, teachers of English in Vietnam have
been trying to find out the most suitable and effective method of teaching English. They

This study is implemented to find answers to the following research questions:
1. How group work is used in the writing class of the 10
th
form non- English majors
at Phan Boi Chau high school?
2. What facilitates and hinders the teachers in using group work in the writing class
of the 10
th
form non- English majors at Phan Boi Chau high school?
3. What recommendations for improvement are needed to make group work successful
in the writing class of the the 10
th
form non- English majors at Phan Boi Chau high school?
IV. Scope of the study
Because of the limitation of a minor study, the author only carries out research on
teachers and students at Phan Boi Chau high school. The study also mainly focuses on the
effectiveness and difficulties in using group writing and the activities used in helping
students work well in writing lessons.
V. Methodology
In order to realize the aims of the study, quantitative method was used. Two survey
questionnaires were used to collect information and evidence for the study.
13 - The first survey questionnaire was for 70 tenth form non- English majors from
two classes of Phan Boi Chau specializing high school: one specializes in Literature and
the other specializes in Biology.
- The second one was for 8 English language teachers at Phan Boi Chau
specializing high school.
All comments, remarks and recommendations given in the study were based on the

of teaching writing. The other aim of the thesis is that it suggests some suitable group
writing activities to improve writing skills of high school students. The thesis also gives us
more opportunities to study and research. 15

16 Communicative Language Teaching which emerged in the 1970s and 1980s is
currently the most favorite and the most widely-used method in English language classes
in Vietnam.
Different authors view CLT differently. However, most definitions of CLT come
under its weak version which emphasizes the importance of opportunities to use English
for communicative purposes. Among the available definitions, the one given by Nunan
(1989) seems to be the most widely-accepted and the most favorable one. As for him,
"CLT views language as a system for the expressions of meaning. Activities involve oral
communication, carrying out meaning tasks and using language, which is meaningful to
the learners. Objectives reflect the needs of the learner including functional skills as well
as linguistic objectives ". Nunan also asserts that in communication process, learners are
negotiators and integrators whereas teachers are facilitators.
Language is not simply a system of rules. It is now generally seen "as a dynamic
resource for the creation of meaning" (Nunan, 1989). This point of view really supports CLT.
In general, CLT has the following characteristics:
- Communicative Language Teaching is aimed at
(a) making communicative competence the goal of language of language teaching
(b) developing procedures for the teaching of the four language skills that
acknowledge the interdependence of language and communication. (Le Van Canh, 2004).
- The goal of CL T is to create a realistic context for language acquisition in the
classroom to develop Hymes' notion of communicative competence.
- CLT is also associated with learner-centered and experienced based tasks
- The focus of CLT is on functional language usage and learner's ability to express
themselves. In other words, for CLT, developing learners' skills is more important than the
content of the teaching and learning (Johnson, 1982).
There are 3 major principles of CLT:
- Communication principle: emphasizes activities that involve real communication

Harmer (1991) divides communicative activities into oral and written ones. Oral
and activities include such categories as communication games, problem-solving, reaching
a the consensus, discussion, replaying instructions, role-play, etc. Written communicative
activities consist of writing reports and advertisements; co-operative writing, exchanging
letters, writing journals and so on.
18 In addition, according to Littlewood (1981), there are two main types of
communicative activities which he calls: "functional communication activities and social
interaction activities". The main purpose of the former is that learners should use the
language they know in order to get meanings across as effectively as possible. Functional
communication activities include such activities as identifying pictures, discovering
identical pairs, discovering missing information, discovering differences, following
directions and so on. The later activities are those that emphasize on social as well as
functional aspects of communication. Learners, therefore, not only convey meanings
effectively, but also, pay greater attention to the social context in which the interaction
takes place. Simulation and role-playing are important techniques for creating a variety of
social relationships and situations.
I.1.3. Group work in communicative language teaching
One of the dominant ways in which the teacher can help students to practice and
develop language skills is through the use of group work. Group work has been considered
“one of the major changes to the dynamics of classroom interaction wrought by student-
centered teaching”( Nunan and Lamb, 1996: 142).
According to Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied linguistics (1993),
group work is defined as: “A learning activity which involves a small group of learners
working together. The group may work on a single task or on different parts of a large task.
Tasks for group members are often selected by the members of the group”.
Harmer (1996) states that group work is a generic term covering a multiplicity of
techniques in which two or more students are assigned a task that involves collaboration

However, writing, in language teacher' opinions, is "a language skill which is
difficult to acquire" (Tribble, 1996:3). It is "a process that occurs over a period of time,
particularly if we take into account the sometimes extended periods of thinking that
precede creating an initial draft" (Harris, 1993:10) .
I.2.2. Writing skills in foreign language teaching
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 modem world, writing (written language) serves a range of functions in
everyday life including:
20 a. Primarily for action: public signs, e.g. on roads and stations; product labels and
instructions, e.g. on food, tools or toy purchased; recipes; maps; television and radio
guides; bills; menus; telephone directories, etc.
For social contact: personal correspondence; letters, postcards; greeting cards.
b. Primarily for information: newspapers and magazines, non-fiction books
including textbooks; public notices; advertisement; guidebooks and travel literature, etc.
c. Primarily for entertainment: light magazines, comic strips; fiction books; poetry
and drama; film subtitles; games including computer games.
(Nunan, 1991 :84)
In classroom, the teaching and learning of writing also plays an important role.
Through writing we are able to share ideas, arouse feelings, persuade and convince other
people. We are able to discover and articulate ideas in the ways that only writing makes
possible. Therefore, writing has always occupied a place in the language syllabus.
Discussing about this issue, White points out a number of reasons why writing
merits a place in the language syllabus:
- Writing remains the commonest way of examining student performance in
English (all public examinations include a composition). Consequently, ability to write
remains a key to examination success.

The process approach
- In favour of classroom activities in which
the learners individually imitate copy and
transform model of correct language,
usually at sentence level.
- Organization of ideas is more important
than ideas themselves
- Emphasize grammar exercises and
correctness.
- Focus on the end result of the writing
process: the writing paper of the learners.

- Learners only produce one final draft.
- Favour of collaborative group work and
conferencing to enhance motivation and
positive attitude toward writing. Model texts
are only for comparison.
- Ideas are important.
- The learners are encouraged to get their
ideas on paper without worrying too much
about correctness.
- Focus on the various forms of classroom
activities which promote the development
of language use.
- The final draft is the result of a long and
painful process of writing successive drafts.

22 writing skill mainly at sentence-level, the process-oriented approach aims at language at
discourse-level.
In the view of Hedge (1990), the process contains a lot of stages which can be
illustrated as follows: "being motivated to write - getting ideas together - planning and
outlining – making notes - making a first draft - revising. replanning. redrafting - editing
and getting ready for publication. ", Meanwhile, according to Oshima and Hogue (1991),
the writing process embraces essentially three steps: pre-writing, planning (outlining),
writing, and revising drafts.
Each step involves certain kinds of task that the writers have to fulfill in order to
construct a good piece of work.
* Pre-writing
Pre-writing is any classroom activity that encourages the learners to write. It
stimulates thoughts for getting started. It may include understanding the purpose of writing,
discovering the topic, thinking about the audience, gathering information or inventing
possible content. Once the possible content for writing has been explored, the writers will
feel more confident to move forward to the next stage.
* Planning
In this stage, the learners organize the ideas they have generated. The most efficient
way to do this is to make an outline - a plan in which the learners write down the main
points and subpoints in the intended order.
* Drafting
Once sufficient ideas have been gathered and plan already drawn, the first attempt
at writing - drafting can proceed quickly. At this stage, the writers are focqsed on the
fluency of writing and are not preoccupied with grammatical accuracy or the neatness of
the draft.
* Responding
Responding to student writing has a central role to play in the successful
implementation of process writing. It is a kind of oral or written intervention by teachers or

There are several good reasons for getting students to work in groups that were
presented by Fries (1945:49).
* Students are more involved
In a whole-class activity, some students often take part in the activity much and
they work really hard while others pay less or no attention to the writing task. The teacher
25 cannot monitor all the students at the same time. To solve this problem, it is necessary for
the teacher to divide class into small groups. Working in groups encourages students to be
more involved and to concentrate on the task. Since all members have to make equal
contribution to the work of groups, there is no time and no chance for lazy students to
relax. Group writing also enables the students to invest much on the task. Generally, group
writing promotes students’ responsibility and autonomy.
* Students help each other
When the students work individually or in pairs, many problems will arise. They
may make mistakes because of using wrong grammatical structures, spelling or unsuitable
word choices. However, they can not realize by themselves. Writing skill requires much
accuracy in these factors. One of the most appropriate solutions to these problems is using
group writing. The reason for this is that members of the group can show mistakes and
provide each other with corrective feedbacks. Therefore, all students will learn from each
other’s mistakes. Another reason is that idea and knowledge using to do each writing task
seems to flow best when they are exchanged. Students in small groups have more
opportunities to share or fulfill their opinions of the given writing topics or tasks.
* The teacher has more time to satisfy students’ requirements
In classroom the teacher often acts as an instructor- controller and corrector.
However, while all members are working in their groups, it frees the teacher from her
usual roles and she now freely goes around the class, observing the performance of
individual students, giving help when needed. What’s more, the teacher can also become a
member in any group to help activity go smoothly in cases it gets into difficulty.

I.3.4. How to organize group work
I.3.4.1. Group formation
According to I- Jung (2004), frequently employed grouping methods include
random, student- selected and teacher- selected groupings.
27 a. Random grouping
Random grouping is often used for in- class activities because of its readiness and
convenience. Randomly assigned groups ignore the differences among students, such as
their language level, learning styles and abilities .
Random groups can be set up by seating arrangement, serial numbels given by the
school, counting off, using playing cards, giving out numbered pieces of paper, distributing
cards with different categories on them and letting students group themselves according to
the category. Random grouping is suitable for competitive review activities that do not
take a long time. It can help narrow the gap between the fast and slow students in the class.
b. Student - selected grouping
Student-selected grouping is probably the most preferred option by learners.
Students often cluster with good friends. Students are more likely to participate in activities
if they feel they are among friends. When engaging in group work, learners feel more
comfortable taking risks, making mistakes, and enjoying themselves. However, this runs
the risk that groups will socialize too much and creates a situation where an "outsider" who
joins this group may feel left out. Also, it is possible that stronger learners would assume
the share of work for weaker ones.
c. Teacher - formed grouping
Teacher- formed grouping is acknowledged by most teachers as requiring the most
amount of careful planning. When forming groups teachers take into account students'
prior achievements, level of preparation, work habits, learning preferences and so forth.
Teacher- selected groups usually aim to achieve a heterogeneous mix. Such a mix
promotes peer tutoring, helps to break down barriers among different type's of students,

It is common that students often perform this stage individually. However, group
work can be useful in which each member is responsible for a certain part in the writing
pieces.
I.3.5.3.Group work in Post - writing stage
This stage involves the procedures of giving feedbacks for the written version.
Feedbacks may be given by peers which can be done in groups or by teacher. Peer
correction is very important because it could help students develop their critical ability and
understand how other readers respond to their writing.