THANH HOA EDUCATION AND TRAINING DEPARTMENT Lam Son Gifted High school TEACHING EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE Using some brainstorming techniques And Outlining to improve writing skills for 12th form non - English majors at Lam Son Gifted high school Writer : Nguyen Thi Huong Position: Teacher Subject : English THANH HOA - 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART A INTRODUCTION I Reasons for choosing the topic II Aims of the study III Participants and applying scope of the study IV Method of study PART B: DEVELOPMENT I Overview of writing 1.1 Definitions of writing 1.2 Approaches to teaching writing skills in foreign language teaching 01 01 01 02 02 03 03 03 03 Applying of Brainstorming techniques in English teaching 04 2.1 Definition of Brainstorming 04 2.2 Organization of brainstorming techniques for warm-up 04 Some suitable and useful activities for applying brainstorming 04 techniques in pre- writing Applying of outlining a paragraph writing in English 07 teaching II The actual teaching and learning context at Lam Son Gifted high school 08 III Examples of applying brainstorming techniques in actual lessons in English teaching Tieng Anh 12 09 IV Examples of applying outlining in actual lessons V Reached results PART C: CONCLUSION 15 18 18 PART A INTRODUCTION I Reasons for choosing the topic In the process of globalization, English plays an important role in enhancing economy, politics, culture and international relations between many countries Therefore, there is a great demand for teaching and learning English in the world as well as in Viet Nam English users today focus more on the ability to communicate in spoken and written languages However, the education quality has not met the society’s expectation because mostly high-school graduates cannot communicate in English effectively in both oral and written forms Under the urgent demand of improving the quality, Vietnam’s English language teaching has recently undergone a comprehensive reform Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has continually updated a new set of textbook for high school students in order to develop students’ communicative competence Moreover, in September 2014, Education Ministry decided to merge the two current exams into one national exam that is required the writing ability of students However, regarding Vietnam’s context, the change will create many difficulties to not only teachers but also learners of English who are too familiar to the old teaching methods, especially in teaching writing skill, which seems to be the most difficult work in teaching and studying English nowadays At Lam Son Gifted high school, writing skills is really a big challenge for non-English majors For students, they used to learn in the way which writing has no place Another problem is their level of English proficiency That is why they find it too difficult to write English compositions Moreover, lack of motivation also faces the students They often get bored and indifferent in the writing lessons As a teacher of English, who is aware of the fact and current challenges and wishes to contribute some suggestions for possible improvements in the teaching and learning of writing skill, I have been trying all the best ways and techniques to teach and improve writing skills for non-English majors in grade 12 th During my writing teaching period, I have always wanted to see my students’ excitement on the lesson every time they learn English Thus, I think it is necessary to operate a lesson with some activities that take a little time but can bring much effect on stages of the lesson In addition, in order to cope with the demand of the society and the requirement of the current national examination this school year, I want to introduce the brainstorming techniques and making outlines that I am applying in classroom teaching Therefore, I decided to make this “Using some brainstorming techniques and outlining to improve writing skills for 12th form non - English majors at Lam Son Gifted high school” II Aims of the study This assignment is aimed at: - Investigating the situation of teaching and learning writing to the 12 th form non- English majors at Lam Son Gifted high school - Giving the effectiveness and difficulties of applying some brainstorm techniques and outlining in teaching writing to the 12 th form non- English majors at Lam Son Gifted high school - Providing some suggestions and implications for the improvement of writing teaching and learning by using some brainstorm techniques and outlining III Participants and applying scope of the study The brainstorming techniques and outlining methods of teaching writing skills were carried out at Lam Son Gifted high school with the participation of students whose majors are Physics, Biology, Information Technology and Literature in grade 12th To those students, English was not their majors but a compulsory subject in the courses All of them have learnt English for at least four years at secondary schools, especially some of them have learnt English for nine years Most of them can grammar very well but have difficulties in mastering four skills, especially writing skills which students find most challenging and boring I mainly concentrate on effectiveness and difficulties of applying some brainstorm techniques and outlining in teaching writing to the 12 th form nonEnglish majors at Lam Son Gifted high school The examples given in this assignment are based on the textbook of English 12 IV Method of study To conduct the study, many methods are used However, the main ones are descriptive statistics, observation and analytical method PART B: DEVELOPMENT I Overview of writing 1.1 Definitions of writing There are many definitions of writing According to Byrne (1991), writing can be defined as the act of forming graphic symbols When we write, we use graphic symbols: alphabet, grammar, and structures to make visual meaningful utterances Other researchers considered writing as a communicative process with purposeful interaction between the participants For example, NuNan (2003, p 100) stated, “Writing is not a solitary act; rather, it is the result of the interaction among people, contexts, and texts.” Writing is characterized with some basic features, such as being linguistics, creative, progressive and interactive Besides, the word “writing” itself may imply an act, a process, or a skill, which needs practice and study to develop It requires both physical and mental powers from the writers 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 The teaching of writing also aims at communication However, beside used to communicate, writing helps our students learn First writing reinforces the grammatical structures, idioms and vocabulary that we have been teaching our students Second, when our students write, they also have a chance to be adventurous with the language, to go beyond what they have just learnt to say, to take risk Third, when they write, they necessarily become very involved in the new language, the effort to express ideas and the constant use of eyes, hand and brain is a unique way to reinforce learning With all the roles mentioned above, writing really becomes an integral part in almost every language syllabus from elementary to tertiary level 1.2 Approaches to teaching writing skills in foreign language teaching There are various ways to teach writing but the two most common are the product approach and the process approach Nunan (1991) introduced the two approaches in teaching writing and the differences between them clearly as follows: The product approach The process approach - In favor of classroom activities in - Favour of collaborative group work and which the learners individually conferencing to enhance motivation and imitate copy and transform model of positive attitude toward writing Model correct language, usually at sentence texts are only for comparison level - Ideas are important - Organization of ideas is more - The learners are encouraged to get their important than ideas themselves ideas on paper without worrying too much - Emphasize grammar exercises and about correctness correctness - Focus on the various forms of classroom - Focus on the end result of the activities which promote the development writing process: the writing paper of of language use the learners - The final draft is the result of a long and painful process of writing successive - Learners only produce one final drafts draft Table 1: Approaches to teaching writing skills While “The product approach to writing usually involves the presentation of a model text, which is analyzed and then forms the basis of a task that leads to the writing of an exactly similar or a parallel text” ( Evan and St John, 1998: 116), the process approach focuses on thinking and writing processes Nevertheless, the product approach sees the language learners as creators of language, decision makers of the message and content 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." There are three essential 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 The most important is pre-writing that is any classroom activity that encourages the learners to get ready to write 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 This step is included choosing and narrowing the topic, gathering ideas and editing ideas Applying of Brainstorming techniques in English teaching 2.1 Definition of Brainstorming “Brainstorming is the name given to a situation when a group of people meets to generate new ideas around a specific area of interest.” Raimes, A.(1983) Using rules that remove inhibitions, people are able to think more freely, move into new areas of thought, and so create numerous new ideas and solutions The participants shout out ideas as they occur to them and then build on the ideas raised by others All the ideas are noted down and are not criticized Only when the brainstorming session is over are the ideas evaluated Brainstorming is a process for developing creative solutions to problems 2.2 Organization of brainstorming techniques for warm-up “Brainstorming is a way of gathering ideas of a topic via making a list, free writing and mapping.”, McDowell, 1999 This is adapted these requirements: Rules: The teacher has to ensure that the students understand how a game or activity is played by giving clear instructions of the rules and remembers to check their understanding before starting Forms of playing: Students can play the games or brainstorming activities: in pairs (student A with student B); in small groups of four or five or more; in two groups ( the class is divided into two teams); in individually with class Depending on each game or brainstorming activity, teacher chooses the most suitable one flexibly Requirements: While playing the games students should use English as much as possible In connection with the games is the topic of the new lesson student should recognize the link between them Preparation: A teacher should prepare a little in advance: pictures, cards, word square, quiz, questions, clear instructions and so on Role of the teacher: Teacher plays the role of an instructor and counselor during the game or brainstorming activity Time limit: Each game or activity in pre- writing stage takes from to minutes Before starting, time limit should be given to students and teacher should stop them whether they have finished or not Some suitable and useful activities for applying brainstorming techniques in pre- writing There are many suitable activities that I have adapted in each writing lesson a Building up sentences - Divide the students into groups The size of group may vary depending on total number of the class - Give words making up meaningful sentences in a wrong order and explain the sentences to students - Ask the students to write out sentences correctly, read out the sentences and then write on the board b Writing consequences This is a fun activity to create a group story Each student needs a blank sheet of paper and a pen If possible, sit in a circle to play Each student adds one stage to the story then folds the paper to cover the information and passes the paper to the student on the right - The teacher asks the students to get into groups of six or seven - The teacher reads aloud to provide the students with the following instruction: - Write the name of a man It can be a famous man or a man everyone in the class know (Depending on the group, allow them to put the names of classmates) - Write the name of a woman It can be a famous woman or a woman everyone in the class knows (Depending on the group, allow them to put the names of classmates) - Write the name of the place where the two people meet - When they meet, he says something to her What does he say? Students write what he says to her She replies to the man What does she say? What is the consequence of this encounter? What happens? What is the opinion of the whole story? What does the world say as a comment? - After each command, the student writes down the information that he has been asked to provide, fold the paper over to hide what he has written to the person on his right The next command is given and the procedure is repeated - When the work has finished, groups open them and, in writing, join the fragments of information together to make it more interesting and logical - The students read the story aloud c Correct the facts Preparation: Prepare handouts that contain one picture and sentences with wrong description of the picture - Divide the class into groups - Deliver handouts to each group Then ask them to correct the sentences to match the picture - Go around and observe the performance of groups - When the groups have finished their work the teacher calls representatives of groups to write the answer on the board - The teacher and the students correct sentences together The group that does better and more quickly will be the winner d Exchange letters The complaining customer: In this activity, students write complaining letters about goods they have bought after seeing an advertisement The students represent the company who make the goods then have to reply to those letters - Students are divided in to small groups Each group is given an advertisement - The groups are told to imagine they have bought the item that is advertised but are not satisfied with it for some reasons - The letters are then given to different groups The new group has to study the letter of complaint and decide what to about it When the decision has been reached they can write a reply to the original letter - The letters are then returned to the original group who read them and discuss what they have been sent e Writing games As for games, they are enjoyable and lively at all levels This means that students should not be too much inhibited by the fear of making mistakes Students write the description of people or places and the rest of the class have to guess who the people are what the places are - The teacher divides the class into groups - The students are all instructed to write a description of famous person or a member of the class, without mentioning that person’s name - A member of one of the group reads his description If someone from the opposing team can identify the person, the group scores a point from the group reading the description if the information about the person in wrong or the English is totally unpredictable f Role playwriting Writing can be much more motivating if the teacher gives students a chance to play a role In this activity, the students will have the chance to write to an imaginary romantic partner - Prepare the role cards for the students - Read the situation from the role-play - Divide the class into groups and then give out role cards to each group for them to read Explain to them that the different groups not talk to each other - Give the students time to write the letter but be sure to give them a firm time limit Remind them that they must finish the letter with the last line provided - When they have finished the letter the teacher can either ask them to read the letter aloud The important thing is that they must the letter in the correct order to tell the story Applying of outlining a paragraph writing in English teaching Knowing how to write an essay outline is an invaluable skill Especially writers who are experienced and used to writing off the cuff can write good essays without outlines However, using outline makes the process easier, smoother and better organized It provides the skeleton, on which students can build writing, low the ideas and thoughts logically, and go on towards a strong conclusion Without these steps, students may run the risk of going off in different directions, the ideas disorganized and the thoughts all jumbled Steps of making an outline a Read the assignment guidelines carefully Highlight or underline important words and phrases in the instructions Make sure that students fully understand what the instructor is asking you to b Develop a topic There are many useful prewriting strategies that can help to generate ideas for the paper List all the ideas that come to mind (good or bad) and then look over the list the students have made and group similar ideas together Expand those lists by adding onto the list or by using another prewriting activity Questioning On a piece of paper, write out “Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?” Space the questions about two or three lines apart so that students can have their answers on these lines Respond to each questions in as much detail as they can c Identify writing’s purpose Ask students what they want to accomplish with their papers Are they writing this paper in order to persuade, entertain, enlighten, or something else? Just make sure that the purpose is in line with what the assignment asks them to Look for key words in the assignment guidelines to help figure out what their purpose should be d Identify the audience Identify the needs and expectations of their audience by considering what they and not know about the topic Anticipate their reactions as well How they might react to the information that you will be sharing with them? Will they be angry, sad, amused, or something else? e Develop the thesis Once you have developed your ideas and considered your purpose and audience, you should be ready to write a thesis statement Effective thesis statements express the main focus of a paper and state an arguable claim A thesis should not be more than one sentence in length Make sure your thesis is arguable Do not state facts or matters of taste Make sure your thesis provides enough detail How many main ideas you intend to express and remember to give detail and relevant information f Identify the linking words and go on in the right types of writing paragraph According to Keith S Folse, 2010 , types of writing paragraph consists of descriptive, comparison, cause- effect and classification paragraphs So make sure that student know to develop its right outline Further more, using suitable and effective linking words can make the writing more unity and coherence II The actual teaching and learning context at Lam Son Gifted high school Although, English is a compulsory subject at Secondary Schools, many pupils are not interested in learning English, they are only interested in their major subjects which they are supposed to perform in the university examinations or specialized in The primary concern of the pupils is to get good marks at written achievement tests Besides, a small number of pupils make efforts to learn English well to apply for a job more easily in the future Only pupils specializing in English are motivated to learn English to pass the entrance exam into university and to seek scholarship to study abroad Moreover, language environment is another problem, the scale of class is an obstacle to teachers in general and English ones in particular, the number of students in a class is too great; there are still about 30 to 39 students per class Thus, in a forty-five –minute lesson, it is difficult to take out their writing successfully Moreover, a large number of students have a bad habit of thinking of topics in Vietnamese and then trying to translate their ideas into English This habit has a great influence on the ways the students write in English In short, through observation and reality when teaching English for nearly 13 years and teaching four classes 12F, 12I, 12V and 12S at Lam Son Gifted high school in the school year 2015 – 2016, the students’ inactiveness and incorporation, the limitation of communicative environment, lack of teachers’ investment lead to 10 the students’ inability of writing skills and developing English compositions To solve these problems, I myself have applied some brainstorming techniques and making outline in teaching writing lessons, which within this paper I would like to deal with to improve writing skills for 12th form non - English majors III Examples of applying brainstorming techniques in actual lessons in English teaching Tieng Anh 12 The following examples are based on the textbook of English 12 Each unit may have more than one activity of brainstorming depending on knowledge of lessons I am trying my best to exploit and find out as many as possible Allowing students to work individually, in pairs or in groups is basing on abilities of each class During the teaching process, I usually use the different pictures, different symbols or different maps and so on to stir the interests of my students to the writing lesson and try to show them on the papers, blackboard or screen of projector Units Required tasks Home Life Writing about family rules Cultural Diversity Describing typical features of a Vietnamese conical leaf hat Ways of Socializing Writing about advantages and disadvantages of the mass media ( changed requirement) School education system Describing school education system in Vietnam Higher education Writing a letter of request Future Jobs Writing a formal letter of job application Economic Reforms Writing a report based on given information Life in the Future Describing the world you would like to live in the future Deserts Describing main features of a desert 10 Endangered Species Writing about measures to protect endangered species and possible results 11 Books Describing a book 12 Water Sports Giving instructions nd 13 The 22 Seagames Describing a sporting event (a football match) 14.International Writing a short description of an international organizations organization 15 Women in society Describing a chart 16 The Association of Writing a letter of recommendation Southeast Asian Table 2: Checklist of writing tasks in English textbook 12 “Stop the bus” game and “making sentences” in unit 1: Home life Topic: Writing about family rules 11 a Brainstorming technique is used in pre- writing stage as a game: Stop the bus! Procedures: Arrange students to work in small groups of or depending their seats and ask - Write down five words showing family relations - Write down five things that family members often together - Write down five verbs expressing feelings – parents to children and vice versa -Write down five qualities that most parents should want their children to have - They must say “Stop the bus!” when they have things in order to be checked and score points The first group to finish and get all corrects wins 10 points - Keep a running total point for each group on the board The group with more points wins the game And declare the winner Then led to the lesson “Parents always want the best things for their children and to achieve this, children are asked to follow some rules…” b Matching and making sentences in pair work Matching column A with column B Do your parents often let you go out A No, because my parents are strict I only in the evening? watch T.V from 7p.m to p.m Who you share your feeling with? B My parents don’t let me come home late Are you allowed to come home late ? C I often share my feeling with my parents Are you allowed to use your family D I am allowed to use the family motorbike motorbike? when it is needed, not to talk on the phone during the meal Who has to the household chores? E I have to attempt to win a place at university Do they let you watch T.V whenever F We are allowed to go out with friends only you like? on some special occasions What you have to in this year? G None of us is allowed to go out at night when are you allowed to go out with H Everybody in the family has to the friends? household chores - Ask each group to make sentences with their own words and some of the sentences above “Web map vocabulary” in unit 2: Cultural Diversity Topic: Write a paragraph about factors of your ideal marriage (or future partner) “Web map vocabulary is used in pre- writing stage: I used the blackboard and asked the whole class one by one to give as many words as possible 12 Sacrifice Situation of family Partnership of equals Age Factors of marriage ABeauty/ appearance Personality Thoughts True love Shares (all thoughts) Money/ Job Trust Experiences Listing out in Unit 3: Ways of Socializing Topic: Writing about advantages and disadvantages of the mass media ( I have changed the requirement of this lesson in order to meet the demand of the national examination) Listing out as many as possible was used in the pre- writing stage Steps: I divided the class into four groups, each group was eight students in two desks Gave each a large paper and ask them to list out as many things as possible Two groups wrote about advantages and two groups wrote about disadvantages, as example above Advantages of mobile phone Exchanging information anytime and anywhere quickly Many kinds to choose basing on hobby and ability about money (anyone also can buy one) SMS is cheap Limiting the number of people in street Electromagnetic wave is not good for health Surfing internet, using for entertainment 13 Small => Easy to lose Many people don’t use it with right purposes (only use because of honour/ face, listening to music, playing games) Many people are too young to use , especially pupils) Disadvantages of mobile phone Waste of money to buy cards/ time Game: “Throw and catch” in pre- stage and fluency writing in while- stage in Unit 4: School education system Topic: Describing school education system in Vietnam Game: “Throw and catch” - Have students work in two groups, ten in each group - Prepare a ball of paper - Tell students that they throw the ball to a student in other group, they call out a word relating to SCHOOLS And when a student catches the ball, he/she has to call out other word - The class decides if the word is correct If it isn’t, or repeats other group’s word, the student is out of the game If correct, the student calls out another word and throws the ball to other group and so on - The last student left is the winner “Letters arrangement” game and building up sentences in group in unit 5: Higher Education Topic: Writing a letter of request to the USCA a Game: Letters arrangement - Divide the class into small groups Give each group an envelop with pieces of papers inside and with a letter written on each piece of paper - Ask the group to arrange the letters to make a meaningful word The first group to finish, stick the words on the board They are the winner if all the words are right 1, I N F O R M A T I O N 2, T 3, 4, U I T I O N F E E S A C C O M M O D A T I E X A M I N A T I O N O N 14 Transition: Writing a letter of request to the USCA b Building up sentences - Ask Ss to work in pair and complete the following sentences to make a reply to the complaint about the poor quality of the service at the above English Centre Dear Duc, Thank / your letter / inform / me / poor / service / centre We / examine / the / situation / and / find / what / say / true This / due / the / difficulty / finance and / low / discipline / teachers We / send / another / better / class / next week If you like, we / give / refund but you / get / 80 percent / money / back I / beg / sympathy and / look / forward / support Yours truly, Call on some representative exchange letters to read aloud Give feedback sentence by sentence Making net words and role playwriting in unit 6: Future jobs Topic: Writing a letter of application for a job as a tour guide a Brainstorming: Making net words - Ask students: “In order to be a tour guide, what qualifications you need?” Expected answers: Good English, good-looking, strong, smart, good manner, willing to work hard for a long time, having a good knowledge about history and geography, ect … Experience Qualities of a tourist guide Good manner Social knowledge Speaking foreign languages fluently Level of education Appearance (good-looking, well -built body) Transition: Writing a letter of application for a job as a tour guide b Student - selected grouping in using role playwriting The teacher divides the class into random groups then give the following cards and ask students to categorize into column which ones used in the Beginnings and which ones used in Closings - The group having the correct answers the soonest will be the winner Look at the following expressions which are used when we write letters 15 Make a list under each heading: - Thanks for your letter - Thank you for sending me your brochure - Sorry for not writing for so long - I must apologise for not contacting you sooner - I'm writing to ask you a favour - Write again soon! - Bye for now Beginnings - It was lovely to hear from you - All my love - Best wishes - It is great to get your letter - Thank you so much for writing - Take care - Good luck! - Hope to hear from you soon Closings Crossword puzzles in unit 8: Life in the future Topic: Describing an ideal world in the year 2020 a Game: Crossword puzzles U I L L I T E R A S N E N E I M T H T T E R R O R I S A R G M Y S H O F R S E N P O V E R V E T I K L O M A A S H O R T O F F T B R E A T H Y H I F B N E Y U W M O B E D I S E A S N O T I N E F R A C G R E E N H O U T U M R T R U U A E I S E W B A Y T E L N S N E V R E S O H L L I X T T - Divide students into two groups, A and B - Hang a crossword on the board and ask the groups to find in the square the words showing problems that people on the earth are facing today - With a correct word, they will get 10 points - The group with more points wins the game Expected answers: starvation, terrorism, poverty, diseases, war, unemployment, illiterate, short of fuel, Transition: Describing an ideal world in the year 2020 IV Examples of applying outlining in actual lessons 16 The format of an essay: When making an outline, students should follow the format of an essay An essay includes three parts: Introductory paragraph, body and the concluding paragraph + The introductory paragraph: The attention getter : a sentence that gets the reader interested The main idea: the topic or thesis of the composition The guide/thesis statement ( the last sentence of the introductory paragraph) : A list of the points that will be discussed , thus showing the organization of the composition + Body: The Body consists of everything between your intro and conclusion and it is where you discuss your three main points A good starting place is to envision that each point is a separate paragraph (or in a long paper, each point might be a section) In each paragraph students should introduce your point and explain their point, give supporting evidence (this is where quotes go!) and explain how the point and evidence relate to your thesis + The concluding paragraph : A summary repeats the main points of the composition A prediction discusses what will happen in the future An evaluation compares the main points and states what is best Topic 1: Measures to protect our environment Aks the whole class to build up an outline Introduction: Role of environment/ danger/ protection Body : Main idea 1: Raise people’s awareness of the need of saving our environment ( extra-curricular activities/ volunteer/ campaigns/ propagandize ) Main idea 2: Apply slogan “reduce / reuse and recycle ( trash/ air pollution/ bottles/ cans/ wood and papers/ renewable sources of energy/ global warming/ green house effects) Main idea 3: raise fund to protect endangered animals and plants ( red list/ be driven to the verge of extinction/ plant more green trees/ biodiversity/ soil erosion) Main idea 4: pass and enact the laws ( illegal hunting/ releasing chemical pollutants / wild products/ living conditions) Conclusion: sense of responsibility/ our survivals/ our descendants Notes: - Linking words - vocabularies: environment/ surroundings/ atmosphere/ natural habitats/ protect/ take care/ save/ preserve/ conserve Topic 2: Book report Name what you should mention in a book report: 17 - Divide the class into small groups of five or six - The group with enough ideas wins the game Call some representatives of the groups to express their groups’ ideas in front of the class Auth or Book report Title Opinio n ion Characters Type Them e Plot Feeling Where is it set? General introduction What is the title of the book? Who is the author? What the type of book is it? Summary of the book’s content Where is the book set? What is the main theme of the book? Who are the main characters? What is the plot of the story? Conclusion What was your opinion of the book? Would you recommend the book? Writing according to an outline -Teacher asks students to work in groups of four and make an outline by using the table below about the book that they have seen Title “ Gone with the wind” Type Romantic love story novel Plot It is about… Filming(place) Based on Main characters Opinion - Give them minutes to and then calls on students to go the board and write them and help students to correct their mistakes and give the comment V Reached results 18 After applying the methods as described above to teach English for students in four classes 12F, 12I, 12V and 12S (with 136 students) for nearly a year, I am really amazed by the improvements made by students from classes when they learn to write as well as make any piece of paper in class and in their daily life But teacher have to be creative and use suitable techniques and methods to each stage of writing lesson to attract students` attentions and improve their ability and creation in learning The results of the final exam and university entrance exam are considered the most importance of teaching and learning English at school so both the teachers and students are concerned much about the changes in the form of its examination I have seen that using these techniques made my students more active and their compositions or paragraph of writing had fewer mistakes, more correctly and proficiently They can make up their own writing more easily and more successfully whenever they are asked to so Especially, what makes me extremely happy is that they love my subject, English more and more and they take part in classroom activities with their enthusiasm and interest, which results in my effective lesson and the students’ advance in English in general and in their writing in particular This below is the specific result Purposes and results Students identify the purpose and form of the piece of writing, enrich background knowledge, improve English ability understand vocabularies and contents, use instructions and guided information to make their writing successfully Students attend the class with enthusiasm and actively but their writings have grammar or structure and vocabulary errors Students can not acquire the lesson and only write few sentences but still wrong Before being applied After being applied 12 F 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 I V S F I V S 42 % 40 38 32 72 70 75 65 % % % % % % % 3 2 35 5 % % % % % % % % 3 1 23 0 0 % % % % % % % % Table 3: Specific result of comparison between before and after applying PART C: CONCLUSION 19 Of the four skills in English teaching- learning process, writing is considered rather difficult because it requires much accuracy in grammatical structures or word choices It is a complex process that allows students to explore thoughts and ideas, and make them visible and concrete The uses of brainstorming techniques and outlining are effective ways to improve writing skill of high school students It helps learners have chance to recall, share and exchange background knowledge and information, ideas and to help each other in a natural and creative way A number of recommendations such as techniques and for motivating students have been applied and discussed Their results are visible in their forty- five minutes tests and final term examinations in this school year Although the study is rather limited, we hope that it will contribute a small part to helping students to learn and master English better at high schools and to be more successful in their writing skills and their next national examinations and in their future life Obviously, it is my great effort so mistakes are unavoidable and inevitable I would like to receive your strict criticism and constructive comments to make it a better one for another time In addition, from this school year, requirement of writing compositions is very important in the exams, I would like to get and improve my methods of teaching writing from my colleagues, friends and students here and there Thank you very much XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN LAM SƠN Thanh Hóa, ngày 25 tháng 05 năm 2016 TÔI XIN CAM KẾT KHÔNG COPY, KHÔNG SAO CHÉP Họ tên chữ ký tác giả Nguyễn Thị Hương REFERENCES Byrne, D (1991) Teaching writing skills- Longman handbook for language teachers London: Longman 20 Evan, T.D.& St John, M.J (1998).Development IN ESP- a multi-disciplinary approach Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Hedge, T, (1990) Writing, Oxford University Press, Oxford Keith S Folse, (2010) From Great Paragraph to Great Essays McDowell, (1999) Process Guide: Brainstorming (The project of Sab Diego United School District) Nunan, D, (2003) Practical English Language Teaching, Mc Graw Hill Nunan, D (1991) Language teaching methodology: A textbook for teachers London: Prentice Hall Raimes, A.(1983) Techniques in Teaching Writing Oxford: Oxford University Press Tiếng Anh 12, NXB Giáo dục 21 ... teaching Therefore, I decided to make this Using some brainstorming techniques and outlining to improve writing skills for 12th form non - English majors at Lam Son Gifted high school II Aims... applying some brainstorm techniques and outlining in teaching writing to the 12 th form non- English majors at Lam Son Gifted high school - Providing some suggestions and implications for the improvement... concentrate on effectiveness and difficulties of applying some brainstorm techniques and outlining in teaching writing to the 12 th form nonEnglish majors at Lam Son Gifted high school The examples given