Faculty of Education - Theses

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Start date: 2010 × End date: 2013 × Type: Doctorate × Subject: English language ×

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    Developing Thai students' writing skills through genre-based teaching
    LERDPREEDAKORN, NAPASUP ( 2010)
    This study reports on an investigation using the genre-based approach to teaching writing, and how it affected students' control over key features of the Discussion Genre. The research explored students' attitudes towards learning to write with this approach and conveyed the application of new pedagogy to teaching writing. The study was conducted in a classroom of thirty nine students during eight two-hour weekly sessions. The participants were third-year English major students in a four-year Bachelor of Arts program in a university in Thailand. The research method was an in-depth case study of the effectiveness of the genre-based approach in improving English as a Foreign Language [EFL] students' writing proficiency. Two cycles designed for teaching and learning the Discussion Genre were fashioned closely after the Disadvantaged Schools Project (DSP) model (e.g. Callaghan & Rothery, 1989), as implemented in various Australian schools. Three key research participants' written texts were analyzed by the researcher/ teacher using specific elements of the systemic functional grammar (SFG) framework (e.g. Butt et al., 2003). Self-assessment questionnaires sought students' views about their own learning experiences and writing proficiency. Semi-structured interviews and students' diaries were used to explore the students' experience of learning to write in English, and to explore students' attitudes to writing in English. A teacher's journal provided information about the ways in which students were involved in and responsive to the new teaching approach. The text analysis revealed that, as a result of the intervention, students gained control over key features of the Discussion Genre, and showed positive attitudes towards this approach, although the students' grammatical knowledge had not significantly improved, probably in part because the research was undertaken over a short period of time. Finally, the application of the genre-based approach is a significantly promising approach for teaching English in EFL contexts.
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    The washback of the TOEFL iBT on English language programs in Vietnam
    Barnes, Melissa Marie ( 2010)
    Washback, or the influence of testing on teaching and learning, has received considerable attention in language testing research over the past twenty years. It is widely argued that testing, particularly high-stakes testing, exerts a powerful influence on both teachers and learners, whether intended or unintended, positive or negative. This study investigated the washback of a high-stakes English language proficiency test, the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT), on general English and TOEFL iBT preparation courses in Vietnam. Vietnam, a developing country whose educational philosophies differ from those underpinning the TOEFL iBT, provided a unique context to explore the test's washback. Four teachers were observed and interviewed and teaching materials were collected from four educational institutions in Vietnam. The study revealed that the TOEFL iBT influenced both what and how the teachers taught, particularly in TOEFL iBT preparation courses. The findings of this study have important implications for teaching and learning in Vietnam.