The Effects of Implementing Theme Cycles on Adult EFL Writers
| Autor: | Li-Te Li, 李利德 |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2003 |
| Druh dokumentu: | 學位論文 ; thesis |
| Popis: | 91 English learning is very popular in Taiwan. In addition to language schools for children, different courses are offered to adults who have left schools for years. Writing is one of them and is usually considered important to English proficiency. However, students are usually fond of listening and speaking classes but show their reluctance to attending a writing class. This tendency is a result of the way English is taught. The two major factors are the way of EFL writing instruction and materials selection. The purpose of the study is to raise the awareness of the importance of relevant materials and to explore an alternative way of instruction to see what influences it might have on adult EFL writers. In order to highlight the importance of relevant materials, theories and philosophies focusing on authentic materials, learner-centered learning, and liberatory education have been reviewed, especially the concepts of whole language philosophy, the major concerns of Rogerian learning, and the central beliefs of Freirean education. The alternative way of instruction refers to theme cycles learning. Theme cycles value the process of learning and integrate various learning skills. It promotes learner-centered learning and makes learning relevant to learners’ interests and concerns. An adult EFL reading and writing class, during the 2000-2001 school year, was the site for the study. This class was a Level 1 class of the Government Employees English Program (GEEP), sponsored by the language center of a national university in Taipei city. The class met once a week for three hours each time in a language lab. The participants in this study were 1 male and 7 female students. Their age ranged from 25 to 45 years old. Two of them held bachelor’s degrees and the other 6 had received their master’s degrees. The years of learning English varied, but most of them had little experience of learning English writing. The research methods used in this study were ethnographic methods, case study, and teacher as researcher. The data were collected throughout the school year of 2000-2001, including individual portfolios (essays, journals, oral reports, etc.), questionnaires, final self-evaluation, e-mail correspondences (information exchange, informal interview, etc.), field notes (observation, interaction, etc.), and reflective journals. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were used in this study. The purpose of quantitative analysis was to investigate the writing performance and attitudes of the participants as a whole, while the purpose of qualitative analysis was to detail the changes individual made during the research study. To analyze essays, the comparison of means was applied for prompt writing drafts. The paired-sample t-test was used to analyze the data of participants’ writing attitudes obtained from pre-class and post-class questionnaires on writing self-efficacy and writing apprehension. Triangulation approach was used to investigate the transcribed and coded qualitative data. It is hoped that the combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis would provide a thorough investigation for this study. The results of this study shows that in a whole-to-part and meaning-oriented learning environment, students improved language use as well as writing content and organization. When they were involved in a learner-centered theme cycles learning, students showed personal growth and empowerment. Not only was their writing confidence increased but their writing anxiety was also decreased. With the emphasis of dialogical way of learning, students cultivated critical thinking and presented their real voice in writing. This study proves the efficacy of implementing whole-language-based theme cycles to an adult EFL reading-writing class. The future research can be done with different EFL learners, such as high school students, university English majors, or teachers in training programs. The study suggests the effect of dialogical way of learning, so it is worth further research to know what makes reciprocal dialogue possible. In addition, it is interesting to further investigate whether the teacher involved in a theme cycles curriculum also experiences personal growth and empowerment. |
| Databáze: | Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations |
| Externí odkaz: |
|