The effectiveness of using scaffolding technique in teaching essay-writing on enhancing English Majors' language proficiency and attitude towards EFL

Research Abstract

The Problem and its significance Introduction Really no one can deny the great importance of writing in life. Writing plays a vital role in community as it constitutes the cultural heritage that helped humanity in the registration and transfer of cultural heritage in addition to the codification of knowledge and sciences .It is also a means of communication, one of the most important outlets of knowledge and a social necessity for transferring and expressing ideas in addition to understanding the ideas of others. "Writing is also a means of communication by which an individual can express his ideas, know the ideas of others, and reflect his concepts and feelings. Writing, then, is of such great importance to learning as it is an essential element of culture, and a social necessity for the transfer of ideas and expressing them, in addition to being aware of the ideas of others."(Shehata, 1992, p.311). Creative writing is that type of writing that enables the student to express himself, communicate with community ,and disclose his psychological needs in such a suitable linguistic style .There he will enjoy what he has written and feel comfort in expressing his thoughts ,emotions and feelings coping with the issues of his society . (Muslim, 2000, p.4) Despite the importance of essay , as one of the areas of creative writing, it receives no attention in schools and universities .There may not be lectures allocated to teach students the strategies of essay writing , and if allocated its time is little and the learners do not have the opportunity of practicing these strategies, and processes involved in writing, and rehearsing them.It is expected then that students learn to write their own, by reading the essays, and following their suit, so writing seems improvised and students become uninterested in making pre-writing drafts. "The writing process is not a linear process .The mastery of the management of these writing processes requires a level higher than just the recognition of certain stages and processes. Hence the writer in the foreign language must move through certain stages when trying to fulfill the task of writing.He must also develop special skills to plan the writing process, in addition to organizing it, writing drafts related to it, revising it, and taking into account the audience, a task which is so difficult for him" . (Dülger, 2011). Due to the fact that writing is an individual routine process which involves increasing the pressure and lack of earning , the teacher needs to create a supportive environment, defying the students' abilities, in addition to goal-setting, and providing a clear explanation of the rationale for the type of writing, making a model presentation for some of the procedures in writing genre, and other tasks represented in instructional scaffolding strategy. (Collier,1995) The idea of instructional scaffolding depends on the famous saying of Vygotsky "what the student can do today with the help of others, he will do tomorrow alone". Accordingly , instructional scaffolding is a type of temporary assistance for the learner to learn a new skill and the teacher teaches the learner how to perform a certain skill to enable him to do it after that alone without help . In other words, to provide temporary assistance needed by the learner sometimes during learning; in order to gain some skills and abilities that enable him to continue to learn independently, then the dependence of the learner on that assistance dwindles gradually , to bear the responsibility of teaching himself to become an independent learner. The scaffolding provided by the teacher does not make the task easy, but it makes the learner able to complete the task with support , and there is a need - in the beginning - to benefit from a great part of the help given from the teacher, to raise or increase the level of student performance to the maximum level of potential, and gradually the level of assistance is reduced, as the learner has become able to do so much alone, at this point the teacher delivers the responsibility of performance to the learner . (Bodrova & Leong , 1998) The Studies have presented eight main properties of teaching by the use of scaffolding technique which the teacher needs to use as general guidelines to reach a dynamic and flexible support ;these properties are: pre-participating , the establishment of common objectives, diagnosing students' needs, providing assistance tailored to a special category of students, keeping the pursuit to achieve goals, providing feedback, helping the learner to understand and become independent, and finally the generalization in other contexts . (Pressley et al , 1996). According to Ameen (2013) the concept of educational scaffolding has four forms illustrated by Stone as follows: (1) The exchange between the most experienced ( the teacher - peers ) , and the learners including their participation in the meaning and in the activities alongside with their understanding and controlling the learning process. (2) Determining the size of the assistance provided by adults during their interaction with students , and this can be done through the diagnosis of the level of understanding and skill of the students in order to be cautious in providing the support which is necessary to help them accomplish the task or goal. (3) Interaction between pupils and adults through which the latter provide various types of support which depend on the nature of the task. (4) Providing temporary and gradual assistance by the most experienced to reinforce turning the responsibility from the most experienced ( the teacher - peers) to the learner. (Ameen, 2013,p.5). "To achieve this principle Stone asserts the importance of having a form of communication and reasoning through which the process of giving the learner the acts and expressions of the most experienced can be organized, and thus he can take part in the performance of the task with the teacher from the point of view of the most experienced . Biemiller and Meichenbaum add :"To achieve this principle there must be two modes of learning as follows: - A tutorial mode which focuses on providing skills and takes into account moving from a learner who follows instructions to a judge. - A tutorial mode which focuses on the performance of skills learned in new situations." (Ameen, 2013, p.6). There is a relationship between this kind of techniques and the art of writing through helping the student gradually to become creative. That happens when he becomes able to disclose the repertoire of his feelings in the form of lines on papers in a genre called essay. Essay-writing skills (1) Making margins to the page and beginning paragraphs with spaces (2) Arranging ideas and making expressive paragraphs (3) Using and developing grammar & dictation rules (4) Using and developing repertoire & vocabulary All these points are able to achieve and enhance proficiency in English majors in the field of essay writing .However the problem still exists with the negative aspects inherited through the long years of negligence and indifference in the process of teaching and learning in Egypt. Some of these problems lie in the bad separation between theory and application. Statement of the Problem Despite the importance of creative writing in general , and essay writing in particular , for university students, the reality refers to the fact that they have a lack in the skills of essay writing at the university stage.There is also an urgent need to achieve proficiency in EFL and form positive & constructive attitudes towards this language. Hence the researcher in this study investigates the effectiveness of using scaffolding technique in teaching essay-writing on enhancing English majors language proficiency and attitude towards EFL. The research problem could be stated in the fact that the students of the English Department, Faculty of Education generally have deficiency in essay writing and fail in making positive attitudes towards EFL under the traditional teaching methods.Therefore the researcher tries to develop some of essay writing skills in students at the Faculty of Education , English Department by the use of scaffolding technique in addition to prompting them to form positive attitudes towards EFL. Objectives of the Study The main objective of the study is to investigate"The effectiveness of using scaffolding technique in teaching essay-writing on enhancing English majors language proficiency and ttitude towards EFL" among the second year English Dept. students at the faculty of Education, Beni-Suef University and develop various writing skills and related attitudes through the proposed program. Questions of the Study The present study tries to put an answer to one main question which is : What is The Effectiveness of Using Scaffolding Technique in Teaching Essay-Writing on Enhancing English Majors Language Proficiency and Attitude towards EFL? From that main question arise the following sub- questions: (1) What are the essay writing skills which are appropriate for EFL majors at the Faculty of Education? (2) To what extent are these skills existing and sufficient among EFL majors at the Faculty of Education? (3) To what extent do these skills enhance EFL majors proficiency? (4) To what extent do these skills help EFL majors make an attitude towards EFL? (5) What is the effectiveness of using scaffolding technique on enhancing essay writing skills among EFL majors at Faculty of Education? (6) What is the effectiveness of using scaffolding technique on forming attitudes towards EFL among EFL majors at the Faculty of Education? Hypotheses of the Study (1)There is a statistically significant difference (in favor of the experimental group) between the mean scores of the experimental and the control groups in the post performance measure in essay writing skills at a significance level ,.01. (2)There is a statistically significant difference (in favor of the experimental group) between the mean scores of the experimental and the control groups in the post performance measure in essay writing related attitudes at a significance level %1. (3)There is a statistically significant difference (in favor of the post performance measure) between the mean scores of the experimental group in the pre performance measure and their scores in the post performance measure in essay writing skills. (4)There is a statistically significant difference (in favor of the post performance measure) between the mean scores of the experimental group in the pre performance measure and their scores in the post performance measure in essay writing related attitudes. Significance of the study The current study is expected to offer help to the following categories: (1) Students of English Department, Faculty of Education: by determining their level in essay writing, developing weak skills, as well as refining and developing their literary and aesthetic sense. (2) Teachers: by providing them with a new and sophisticated strategy to communicate with their students, and developing their skills in writing in general and essay writing in particular .They can also benefit from the achievement test in determining the level of their students. (3) Language Program Designers: by providing them with a list of most important skills necessary to write an essay which students need in the university stage, and helping them shape curricula which can develop essay writing skills using scaffolding technique. Variables of the Study (1) The independent variable was the use of scaffolding technique. (2) The first dependent variable was enhancing proficiency in EFL. (3) The second dependent variable was making an attitude toward EFL. Design of the Study The researcher used the quasi-experimental design. Limits of the Study The study was limited to the following limits: (1) A sample that consists of 70 students in English Department-Second year at the Faculty of Education,Beni-suef University. (2) The study will be fulfilled through the year 2015. (3) A group of proficiency skills which the researcher intends to develop among his students by the use of scaffolding technique. (4) Some selected essays to be studied by the use of scaffolding technique. (5) A set of scaffolds represented in two categories as follows: (a) Soft scaffolds which aim at providing the students with feedback added to gradual and continuous help during the discussion of what they have written , and solid scaffolds in the form of a preset database with questions and information that will help them develop the art of writing. (b) Complex scaffolds which contain much help, and simple scaffolds which offer rare help.The researcher has adopted these classifications because the students are expected to need them. The researcher chose this part of the year (2015) simply because he had begun the preliminary parts of his study and the sections with the sample where he could organize and control them. He chose these specific skills after he had noticed a clear deficiency in them based on the results of the diagnostic test. He chose these essays because he felt that they are rich with scientific material and could cover all the skills and attitudes intended to be handled in the study. Definition of Terms Scaffolding -Vygotsky defines it as " The role of teachers and others in reinforcing the growth of learners , providing them with the supporting infrastructure that shifts them to the next phase. -A strategy in which the goal of the teacher is to make the learner independent and have a kind of self-regulation and able to solve the problem himself. Hartman, (2002). -The researcher defines it as "An educational, flexibly organized, technique through which the teacher offers information to the student and then lets him do the task independently , and it is all done gradually". Proficiency - Proficient means "having or marked by an advanced degree of competence, as in an art, vocation, profession, or branch of learning. (Thesaurus & Encyclopedia, 2013). -The quality of having great facility and competence. (Thesaurus & Encyclopedia, 2013). -Advancement in knowledge or skill. (Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2013). - Proficient means well advanced in an art, occupation, or branch of knowledge." (Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2013). - Proficient means well-advanced or competent in any art, science, or subject; skilled. (Dictionary.com, 2013). - The researcher defines proficiency as:" The competence in every branch and specialization"

Research Keywords

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