EFL students' perception and practices of collaborative writting in tertiary academic writting classrooms = Nhận thức và việc thực hành viết luận theo nhóm của sinh viên ở bậc đại học

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

QUY NHON UNIVERSITY

TRAN THI MY HAO

EFL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF

COLLABORATIVE WRITING IN TERTIARY ACADEMIC

WRITING CLASSROOMS

Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching

Code: 8140111

Supervisor: Assoc.Prof.Dr . Nguyen Thi Thu Hien

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN

TRẦN THỊ MỸ HẢO

NHẬN THỨC VÀ VIỆC THỰC HÀNH

VIẾT LUẬN THEO NHÓM CỦA SINH VIÊN

Ở BẬC ĐẠI HỌC

Ngành: Lý luận và phương pháp dạy học bộ môn tiếng Anh

Mã số: 8140111

Người hướng dẫn: PGS.TS Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền

i

DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP

The thesis, entitled “EFL Students’ Perceptions and Practices of

Collaborative Writing in Tertiary Academic Writing Classrooms,” was

conducted under the supervision of Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, a

lecturer working at Quy Nhon University.

I declare that the information reported in this study is the result of my

own work and effort. I have used no materials other than those listed in the

references. No other person’s work has been used without due

acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis. Also, this thesis has not been

partly or fully submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma.

Binh Dinh, 2022

Tran Thi My Hao

ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The birth of this thesis was not only my own attempt but also benefited

from invaluable assistance from organizations and individuals, which I

received throughout the whole process, to whom I would like to express my

sincere thanks.

Firstly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to

my supervisor, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien. I owe her well-oriented

guidance, thoughtful advice, warm encouragement, and infinite patience.

Without her taking precious time to give the instruction, the successful

completion of this study work would not have been possible.

Secondly, I want to send my thankfulness to all the lecturers that taught

me throughout my M.A course for their sensible and professional advice,

which totally helped me to overcome all the difficulties.

Thirdly, I would like to extend my special thanks to Quy Nhon

University, Post-graduate Department, and Foreign Languages Department

for the administrative assistance.

My sincere thanks are also to the instructor, M.A. Tran Thi Da Thao,

who has been teaching the course “Writing 5” and the students from classes

K42A, K42B, and K42H. Without their help, I could not gather enough

qualitative and quantitative data to conduct this study.

Last but not least, I was blessed to have my beloved family and friends

accompany me on this journey. Their support and continuous encouragement

throughout the course and the study of this thesis did give me strength and a

great source of inspiration.

iii

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate EFL students’ perceptions and practices

regarding collaborative writing in tertiary academic writing classrooms. To

fulfill the aim, the study was carried out at Quy Nhon University with the

enthusiastic participation of 120 third-year English Language majors. The

data for the study was collected through students’ questionnaires, focus group

discussions, and classroom observations, and then analyzed both

quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings of the study revealed that the

students’ perceptions regarding the use of collaborative writing in writing

classrooms were highly positive. Specifically, they were in favor of the use of

collaborative writing in writing classrooms as it significantly contributed to

improving their writing performance, motivation, and critical thinking. As for

students’ practices regarding collaborative writing, they followed the writing

procedure, which consists of three main stages in general (Pre-writing, While￾writing, and Post-writing). However, some slight differences in how students

collaborate and divide tasks for each group member in writing classes were

seen. Although students basically practiced collaborative writing as they

perceived, there was still a gap between students' perceptions and their

classroom practices regarding the level of involvement in the collaborative

writing among group members, the time allocated for proofreading and

editing the final draft, and the overuse of mother tongue during the discussion.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP.........................................................................i

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.......................................................................................... ii

ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................. iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS...........................................................................................iv

LIST OF ABBRREVIATIONS .................................................................................vi

LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................i

LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................... ii

CHAPTER 1.INTRODUCTION ................................................................................1

1.1. Rationale............................................................................................................1

1.2. Aim and objectives............................................................................................3

1.2.1. Aim .............................................................................................................3

1.2.2. Objectives...................................................................................................3

1.3. Research questions ............................................................................................3

1.4. Scope of the study..............................................................................................4

1.5. Significance of the study ...................................................................................5

1.6. Organization of the study ..................................................................................5

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................7

2.1. Definition of perceptions and practices.............................................................7

2.2. Teaching writing in tertiary academic writing classrooms ...............................9

2.2.1. Definition of writing...................................................................................9

2.2.2. Approaches in teaching writing................................................................10

2.3. Collaborative learning .....................................................................................13

2.4. Collaborative writing.......................................................................................16

2.4.1. Definition of collaborative writing...........................................................16

2.4.2. Benefits and drawbacks of collaborative writing .....................................18

2.4.3. Types of collaborative writing strategy....................................................23

2.4.4. The implementation of collaborative writing in EFL classrooms............27

2.5. Previous studies on EFL students’ perceptions and practices of collaborative

writing ....................................................................................................................29

v

CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ......................................................36

3.1. Research design ...............................................................................................36

3.2. Research setting...............................................................................................36

3.3. Research participants.......................................................................................38

3.4. Research instruments.......................................................................................40

3.4.1. Questionnaire............................................................................................41

3.4.2. Focus Group Discussion...........................................................................42

3.4.3. Classroom observation .............................................................................44

3.5. Procedures for Data Collection .......................................................................45

3.6. Procedure for data analysis..............................................................................47

3.7. Research reliability and validity......................................................................48

3.8. Legal and ethical considerations .....................................................................48

CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.......................................................50

4.1. Students’ perceptions of collaborative writing in writing classrooms............50

4.1.1. Students’ perceptions of the effects of collaborative writing in writing

classrooms ..........................................................................................................51

4.1.2. Students’ perceptions of difficulties they might face using collaborative

writing.................................................................................................................66

4.2. Students’ implementation of collaborative writing in writing classrooms..........71

4.2.1.Pre-writing stage........................................................................................72

4.2.3. While-writing stage ..................................................................................74

4.2.3. Post-writing stage .....................................................................................75

4.3. Students’ perceptions and their actual classroom practices regarding

collaborative writing...............................................................................................76

CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS...........................................81

5.1. Conclusion .......................................................................................................81

5.2. Pedagogical implications.................................................................................83

5.3. Limitations.......................................................................................................84

5.4. Recommendations and suggestions for further research.................................85

REFERENCES..........................................................................................................86

APPENDICES

vi

LIST OF ABBRREVIATIONS

CL: Collaborative Learning

CW: Collaborative Writing

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

ESL: English as Second Language

FGD: Focus Group Discussion

L2: Second Language

LREs: Language Related Episodes

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Collaborative Writing

Strategies (Lowry et al., 2004, p.81)................................................... 26

Table 3.1. Summary of the characteristics of the research participants ......... 39

Table 3.2. Research questions and instruments.............................................. 40

Table 4.1. Students’ perceptions of the effects of collaborative writing on

their writing skills............................................................................... 52

Table 4.2. Students’ perceptions of the effects of collaborative writing on

other skills........................................................................................... 55

Table 4.3. Students’ perceptions of the effects of collaborative writing on

their motivation and confidence ......................................................... 57

Table 4.4. Students’ perceptions of the effects of collaborative writing on

their collective efforts and responsibility............................................ 59

Table 4.5. Students’ perceptions of the effects of collaborative writing on

their problem solving and knowledge exchange ................................ 62

Table 4.6. Students’ perceptions of the effects of collaborative writing on

their academic improvement............................................................... 64

Table 4.7. Students’ perceptions of difficulties they might face using

collaborative writing ........................................................................... 66

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1. Group Single-Author Writing (Lowrey et al., 2004, p.76)............23

Figure 2.2. Sequential Single Writing (Lowrey et al., 2004, p.76)...................24

Figure 2.3. Parallel Writing (Lowrey et al., 2004, p.77)....................................24

Figure 2.4. Horizontal Division Parallel Writing (Lowrey et al., 2004, p.78) 24

Figure 2.5. Stratified Division Parallel Writing (Lowrey et al., 2004, p.79)...25

Figure 2.6. Reactive Writing (Lowrey et al., 2004, p.80)..................................25

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The introduction chapter helps lay background information essential for

an understanding of the issue discussed in this study. In addition, it is

established with the framework of the thesis consisting of (1) rationale, (2)

aim and objectives, (3) research questions, (4) scope of the study, (5)

significance of the study, and (6) organization of the study.

1.1. Rationale

English has become an essential means of communication in the age of

globalization. In the context of Vietnam, English is regarded as a compulsory

subject in many schools, colleges, and universities. Of the four skills, writing

is considered to be one of the most necessary academic skills, especially at the

tertiary level. Students are supposed to acknowledge that mastering the

complexities of the writing process not only helps them achieve their

immediate goals of composing well-written essays, reports, and research

papers, but also serves their further education later. Many students, on the

other hand, consider writing to be the most difficult compared to the other

skills because they might have to struggle with developing and organizing

ideas, using correct grammar and word choices, and applying proper writing

mechanics. According to Homstad and Thorson (1996), writing is always a

challenging skill for those learning English because of some restrictions in

terms of language proficiency and linguistic knowledge. Silva (1993)

suggested that it is difficult for students learning English as a foreign

language to compose a great essay because of the significant difference

between the sentence structure of the first language and the second one.

Likewise, Wang and Wen (2002) suggested that students' difficulty in writing

English is due to the influence of their mother tongue, as they often translate