Keywords
FCE exam
Write & Improve teaching service
post-graduate students
academic performance
How to Cite
Abstract
The current paper intends to describe the practice and analyze the results of using the website Write & Improve as an additional extra-class tool of developing writing skills in the course of preparation for the FCE exam for post-graduate students. The study has proven the hypothesis that the proposed algorithm for working with the service Write & Improve is effective for teaching FCE Writing for post-graduate students, and provided the experimental research of learners’ progress. Theoretical (analysis and synthesis), empirical (observation, testing, conducting pedagogical experiment) and statistical (calculating the Mean and the Standard Deviation) methods were used to achieve the stated aim. A significant difference was observed in the experimental group of 32 Kharkiv post-graduate university students where the experiment was carried out in 2017/2018 academic year. The obtained results of the experimental research demonstrate post-graduate students’ progress in the FCE Writing Test and can be regarded as the evidence that the service Write & Improve does have a positive impact on mastering post-graduate students’ writing skills. Furthermore, comparing the test results according to 5-band scale in four different criteria (Content, Communicative Achievement, Organization, Language) at the different stages of the course allowed to measure the development rate of the checked English writing skills. The resulting data confirmed the improvement in post-graduate students’ performance in all the criteria of Writing on average by 36.1%; the most significant progress has been in Language (vocabulary and grammar aspects) with the average increase from 3.0 to 4.5 scores (50 %) whereas the least advance to be claimed is in Communicative Achievement with the results ranging from 2.8 to 3.6 (28.6%); it proves the substantial increase. Provided that Write & Improve is implemented systematically with a careful consideration of post-graduate students’ problems and needs, the application of it can be said to have the obvious correlation with post-graduate students’ progress. The authors’ experience is significant in Ukrainian learning context as it proves the effectiveness of using innovative online instruments to teach English Writing to post-graduate students who aim to pass FCE exam.
References
V. Kirpal, Sh.B. Gokhale, Unlock Their Future: A Skills-Based Approach to Teaching & Learning English Paperback. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd, 2011. 194 p. (in English)
G.-S. D. Ingale, “Techniques in Teaching Writing Skills”. Journal of English Studies. Vol. 12 (1), 2017, p.16-20, [Online]. Available: https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-4321937013/techniques-in-teaching-writing-skills. (in English)
B. A. Zhetpisbayeva, B. A. Beiуsenbayeva, “Classroom Activities for Developing Students Writing Skills”. Bulletin of the Karaganda University. Pedagogy, Karaganda, 2014, [Online]. Available: https://articlekz.com/en/article/14624. (in English)
Write & Improve. A Great Service for English Language Learners. ICC Hawaii. 2017 [Online]. Available: https://icchawaii.edu/write-improve-english-language-learners/. (in English)
Cambridge English Offers Free Writing Feedback Online. News and Business Analysis for Professionals in International Education, 2016 [Online]. Available: https://thepienews.com/news/cambridge-english-offers-free-writing-feedback-online/. (in English)
E. Ahlsén, N. Lundh, Teaching Writing in Theory and Practice. A Study of Ways of Working with Writing in the 9th Grade. Degree Project 15 ECTS Subject: Didactics Advanced course in English with Educational. Stockholm Institute of Education Department of Curriculum Studies and Communication, 2007. [Online]. Available: https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:199311/FULLTEXT01.pdf. (in English)
Ch. Whitaker, Best Practices in Teaching Writing. [Online]. Available: https://www.learner.org/workshops/middlewriting/images/pdf/HomeBestPrac.pdf. (in English)
H. Smith, “Emerging from the Experiment: A Systematic Methodology for Creative Writing Teaching”. New Writing. The International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing. Vol. 3(1), 2006. p. 17-34 [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.2167/new229.0 .(in English)
A. Rodriguez, “The ‘Problem’ of Creative Writing: Using Grading Rubrics Based on Narrative Theory as Solution”. New Writing. The International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing. Vol. 5(3), 2008. p. 167-177. [online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1080/14790720802209963. (in English)
W. Stephanie, L. Kerschbaum, “Review: Teaching Writing in the 21st Century: Composition Methodologies, Reading, and Transfer”. College English, Vol. 78(4), 2016. p. 394-406 [Online]. Available: http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CE/0784-mar2016/CE0784Review.pdf. (in English)
D. Sulisworo, T. Rahayu, R. N. Akhsan, “The Students’ Academic Writing Skill after Implementing Blended Learning Using Facebook”. Information Technologies and Learning Tools, Vol. 56(6), 2016. p. 176-191, [Online]. Available: https://journal.iitta.gov.ua/index.php/itlt/article/view/1477. (in English)
O. Tarnopolsky, “Creative EFL Writing as a Means of Intensifying English Writing Skill Acquisition: A Ukrainian Experience”. TESL Canada Journal, Vol. 23(1), 2005. p. 76-88, [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v23i1.79. (in English).
O. B. Tarnopolsky, S. P. Kozhushko, “Methods of teaching students English writing”. Vinnitsa, Nova knyha, 2008. 288 p. (in Ukrainian).
Yu. V. Bachlachenko, “Methodology of Learning English Individualization for Professionally-oriented Written Speech of Future System Analysts”, thesis for candidate of sciences in the specialty 13.00.02, Kyiv, Ukraine, 2016. 344 p. (in Ukrainian).
O. Yu. Galchenko, “Training future tourism managers of professionally oriented English writing in colleges”, thesis for candidate of sciences in the specialty 13.00.02, Kyiv, Ukraine, 2016. 368 p. (in Ukrainian).
N. I. Dichka, “Methodology of teaching English professionally oriented written speech of future IT specialists”, thesis for candidate of sciences in the specialty 13.00.02, Kyiv, Ukraine, 2015. 312 p. (in Ukrainian).
O. S. Sinecop, “Method of Interactive Learning of English Writing Speech by Future Specialists in Information Security Using Computer Technologies”, thesis for candidate of sciences in the specialty 13.00.02, Kyiv, Ukraine, 2011. 370 p. (in Ukrainian).
M. M. Metolkina, “Formation of English competence in professional written communication of future logistic specialists”, thesis for candidate of sciences in the specialty 13.00.02, Kyiv, Ukraine, Odessa, 2009. 254 p. (in Ukrainian).
N. M. Odegova, “Method of formation of English competence in writing in the process of teaching future teachers to write reviews”, Kharkiv, 2012. 264 p. (in Ukrainian).
H. Voronina, “Peculiarities of students’ training and testing foreign language for technical specialties”, Naukovyy visnyk kafedry Yunesko KNLU. Seriya Filolohiya. Pedahohika. Psykholohiya. Vol 30, 2015. p. 334-339, [Online]. Available: journals.uran.ua/index.php/2411-5991/article/.../57894. (in Ukrainian).
O. Tsaryk, “State of writing in language education”, Molod i rynok. Vol. 2 (121), 2015. [Online]. Available: https://revolution.allbest.ru/pedagogics/00856218_0.html. (in Ukrainian).
I. M. Vetrova, “The role of creative writing in teaching English in pedagogical university”, Onovlennya zmistu, form ta metodiv navchannya i vykhovannya v zakladakh osvity. Naukovi zapysky RDHU. Vol. 10(53), 2014. p. 127-130, [Online]. Available: irbis-nbuv.gov.ua/.../cgiirbis_64.exe?...2014_10... (in Ukrainian).
O. M.Trubitsyna, I. P. Fedichkina, “Teaching creative writing of foreign language in the senior years at language higher education establishments”, Naukovyy chasopys NPU imeni M. P. Drahomanova. Vol. 29(5). Pedahohichni nauky: realiyi ta perspektyvy. 2011, p. 206-209, [Online]. Available: nbuv.gov.ua/j-pdf/Nchnpu_5_2011_29_52.pdf. (in Ukrainian).
N. V. Maiier, “Distance Learning Technologies in Organizing Self-Study Work of Students Majoring in Philology”. Information Technologies and Learning Tools, Vol. 59(3), 2017. p. 96-102, [Online]. Available: https://journal.iitta.gov.ua/index.php/itlt/article/view/1651/1194. (in English).
L. V. Berezova, S. V.Mudra, K. H. Yakushko, “The Effect of Webquests on the Writing and Reading Performance of University Students”. Information Technologies and Learning Tools, Vol. 64(2), 2018. p. 110-118, [Online]. Available: https://journal.iitta.gov.ua/index.php/itlt/article/view/1979 .(in English).
S. V. Miasoiedova, “Incorporating Technology Into Education: Methods Techniques and Strategies”, Inozemni movy u vyshchyi osviti: lingvystychni, psyholoho-pedahohichni ta metodychni perspektyvy. Kharkiv, 2016, p. 166-171, [Online]. Available: http://dspace.nlu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/12429. (in English)
I. I. Kostikova, “Use of electronic dictionaries in the process of learning English”, Pedahohichni nauky: teoriyi, istoriyi, innovatsiyni tekhnolohiyi, Sumy : Vyd-vo SumDPU imeni A. S. Makarenka, Vol. (76), 2018, p. 3-13, doi: 10.24139/2312-5993/2018.02/003-013. (in Ukrainian).
I. Kostikova, “Language games in teaching English”, Teoriya ta metodyka navchannya ta vykhovannya, Vol. 43, 2018 p. 174-184, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.1243599 (in English).
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors hold copyright immediately after publication of their works and retain publishing rights without any restrictions.
- The copyright commencement date complies the publication date of the issue, where the article is included in.
Content Licensing
- Authors grant the journal a right of the first publication of the work under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) that allows others freely to read, download, copy and print submissions, search content and link to published articles, disseminate their full text and use them for any legitimate non-commercial purposes (i.e. educational or scientific) with the mandatory reference to the article’s authors and initial publication in this journal.
- Original published articles cannot be used by users (exept authors) for commercial purposes or distributed by third-party intermediary organizations for a fee.
Deposit Policy
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) during the editorial process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see this journal’s registered deposit policy at Sherpa/Romeo directory).
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Post-print (post-refereeing manuscript version) and publisher's PDF-version self-archiving is allowed.
- Archiving the pre-print (pre-refereeing manuscript version) not allowed.