Jurnal Ilmiah 2010 Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Gaya

Message Me Please:An Action Research on Using Message Cards to Encourage Writing

Among Adult Learnersby

Dr. Goh Lay Huah

Abstract

This is an action research using message cards as a technique to encourage writing among a group of Open University Malaysia (OUM) 14 Weeks in-service participants during the course “English for Written Communications”. Initial survey revealed that 70.37% of respondents’ self-evaluation of their proficiency placed them at the low level. The focus for my action research was first, to use message cards to obtain participants’ feedback on their learning effectiveness and second, to enable them to improve their writing skills. I am the researcher with 35 adult learners in the class, of which 28 were female and 7 were male. They were primary school teachers who had been teaching various subjects in schools for at least 10 years. I used four data sources to analyse the findings: message cards and message replies, participant initial and concluding reflections, interview and reflection journal. In this action research, the message cards were intended to encourage my participants to inform me of their needs and at the same time provide them with an authentic context to practice their writing skills. I learnt that what worked about my teaching was carrying out the lesson slowly and systematically, giving explanation step by step, and using translation when necessary. I realized that traditional methods of consciously learning the language still worked – lecture input, discussion and translation. The participants felt they had improved their writing skill. In situations where internet disruptions were frequent, message cards bécame a relatively more constant and reliable form of interactive and personal communication. I learnt that an effective lesson is not just about strategies. The combined teacher characteristics encouraged them to show commitment in the teaching and learning process. An extension of this research would be to approach it from a linguistic perspective and examine the message cards to analyse the errors learners made in writing.

Keywords: writing, message cards, adult learners

1.0 INTRODUCTION1.1 Reflections On Past Teaching And LearningBuilding my career in teaching is like aging wine that showed initial promise – its quality grows with the years. Since I was a novice on practical teacher training, I remembered wistfully wishing I was a “natural born teacher”. Two decades into my practice, I accepted that I was not gifted with a natural talent for teaching. But I “grew into a teacher”. This involves the unceasing developmental cycles of acquisition and renewal of knowledge, skills and experience in the classrooms, and the love and enjoyment in the sharing.

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The need to ensure that students learn effectively is the core responsibility of a teacher. I am very concerned about teaching strategies. As my regard for teaching grew I began to recognize the responsibility and obligation to uphold the quality and professionalism in my career. One of the ways was the continuous inquiry into my own practice to constantly seek ways to ensure that effective learning took place among my learners. I told myself that I could vary the ways I delivered my lessons. As an English Language lecturer in a teacher training institute, I wanted to make my lessons interesting and I wanted my students to learn not only what they were supposed to learn, but to be motivated to want to learn more. With such intentions in mind I commenced teaching the course “English for Written Communications” to a group of adult learners.

The Gaya Teacher Training Institute ran a preparatory course for primary school teachers to embark on their degree studies in Open University Malaysia (OUM). These were classes of the 14 Weeks in-service course participants made up of teachers who had been teaching various subjects in schools for at least 10 years. I was assigned to teach English Language writing skills to a class made up of 35 teachers who attended this in-service course. In my long years of teaching, I have observed that of the four language skills, the writing skill was the most difficult to acquire. Therefore, I contemplated on the need to devise innovative and interesting strategies that would improve the learners’ writing skills. This was done through reading around the subject as well as carrying out collegial discussions with my fellow lecturers.

The timely headquarter duty for the Teacher Education Division (Bahagian Pendidikan Guru) to provide input on action research to lecturers in the 12 Weeks research course encouraged me to “walk the talk”. The practice and culture of research has been recognized as a means of professional development and continuous improvement for teacher practitioners, and action research is a very practical and relevant form of classroom research. I decided to start an action research as a form of “appreciative enquiry” (Troxel, 2002) with my group of adult learners. I felt that 14 weeks was an appropriate period of time for me to carry out a simple action for research and obtain definitive results. This led me to systematically and professionally document the use of message cards as a way of getting my learners to write. In this way, I may also share my experiences as part of an input example during my sessions with the 12 weeks research participants.

Susman (1983) distinguished five phases to be conducted within each research cycle (Figure 1). Initially, a problem is identified and data is collected for a more detailed diagnosis. This is followed by a collective postulation of several possible solutions, from which a single plan of action emerges and is implemented. Data on the results of the intervention are collected and analyzed, and the findings are interpreted in light of how successful the action has been. At this point, the problem is re-assessed and the process begins another cycle. This process continues until the problem is resolved. It is based on this model that I embarked on my action research.

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Figure 1 : Five Phases of Research Cycle

Even as I started teaching written communication skills to my OUM class, I wondered whether the learners were learning effectively. I needed to get feedback from my learners to explore the ways I could improve on my teaching methods. As a preliminary step in carrying out this action research, I prepared a simple open-ended reflective bi-lingual questionnaire to survey my learners’ needs with regards to their writing skills. I started my first lesson by distributing the reflective questionnaire for the participants to answer. They could choose to answer either in BM or English. On this reflective form, participants were requested to adopt pseudonyms and write their thoughts in answer to the following questions:

1. How do you perceive your level of English Language proficiency? 2. Do you think the course “English For Written Communications” will be useful to you? Why? 3. What do you expect to learn from the course “English for Written Communications”? 4. What do you expect from the lecturer during the lessons? 5. Give suggestions on how you would like the lessons to be carried out.

27 out of 31 course participants present that day returned the open-ended questionnaire. The questions allowed the respondents to analyze their own level of English Language proficiency. At the same time I would find out their preferred style of instruction and learning. I also complemented analysis of this data with reflections of my teaching experiences as well as the results of the discussion with my colleagues.

1.2 Issues Of ConcernBased on the analysis of the preliminary reflective questionnaire administered to the participants some issues of concern were identified. Feedback revealed that respondents’ self-evaluation of their proficiency placed them more at the low level (70.37% of respondents) than at the moderate level (Table 1). “My perceive level of English Language is low. I am not confident to speak in English. I am shy if when I talk people will laugh because maybe I use broken English” (Reflection/Ziqa, 080709).

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Table 1: Perceived Proficiency Level of RespondentsProficiency level No. of Respondents % of Respondentsmoderate 7 25.93low 19 70.37none 1 3.70Total 27 100

At the same time I perceived the real and earnest desire among all the learners to learn. “English for Written Communication will be useful to me, because it will teach me and improve me in grammar written” (Reflection/Joan, 080709). There was hope for “guidance” (Reflection/Pisces, MIC, LAM, ST, Mummy Cool, Ziqa; 080709) and “many knowledge to learn, how to write and talk in high level” (Reflection/Aly, 080709).

Two issues appeared to surface repeatedly – that of my concern in developing their writing skills, and secondly, their need for support not just in writing, but also in speaking, grammar and vocabulary (Table 2).

Table 2: Peceived need for SupportSkills No. Of Respondents

grammar 18

writing 27

vocabulary 11

speaking 15

reading 2

They needed help to improve themselves in more than one aspect of the language skills. “I would really like it if the lecturer can teach us more on how to speak or write better. Please be gentle along the way..”(Reflection/Sifamogha, 080709). I saw that as a sincere plea to make their wishes happen.

1.3 Research FocusThe focus for my action research was therefore twofold: first, to use a message card to obtain my participants’ feedback on their learning effectiveness and second, to enable them to improve their writing skills.

Being mindful that the input and support rendered to my OUM students was a research exercise, I systematically planned the steps to carry out the lessons. The reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action were actively and consciously documented. A strategy such as the use of message writing to develop writing skills and obtain feedback was deemed worth reflecting, documenting and reporting its implementation process and consequent effects for sharing.

1.4 Research ObjectiveThis research aims to:

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i. explore ways in which I can teach “English for Written Communications” effectively

ii. explore message cards as a technique in encouraging learners to write.iii. explore the learning points which arise from the action research that may

improve and enrich me professionally.

1.5 Research Questions1. How can I teach “English for Written Communications” effectively?2. How is the use of message cards effective in encouraging participants to write?3. What are the learning points from this research?

2.0 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATUREAs we live in the here and now, it is essential to make writing attractive not because of any future use but because it fulfills some present needs and engages the individual. According to Krashen (1981), the process of acquisition can only occur if the learner’s environment is rich in the language to be learnt. This process usually results in learners being able to use language fluently and appropriately. Acquisition can be encouraged, for instance, through more emphasis on communicative activities that provide opportunities to use language like writing meaningful texts on message cards.

The use of message cards also builds fluency in the context of writing. It enables the learner to write down his thoughts with ease and confidence, without undue anxiety over correctness of spelling and grammar. The idea is to keep the ideas flowing. At the earlier phase, the focus is on building up a positive attitude to writing among learners and to replicate what happens when a child learns to speak his mother tongue (Citravelu et al., 1995). The teacher’s role is to develop the learners’ self-esteem and confidence in writing.

Coombe et al (2008) offers a brief account of teaching lower proficiency students to take responsibility for their own learning and how to correct and identify their own errors. The approach involved a simple feedback scheme which was reinforced by a “Learner’s Writing Journal” (p. 24). This is an extremely practical idea which I drew upon in implementing my message writing strategy.

One of the rationale driving the use of the message card to encourage writing is the benefit of free writing in meaningful contexts. Peyton (2000) states that free writing can be one of the powerful methods to encourage people to express their feelings and thoughts through paper. For free writing, learners write for a period of time in class on a topic of interest to them. This writing can take many forms, including quick writes on message cards, which are time-limited, done individually, and not always shared; and dialogue journals, written to a teacher, a classmate or other partner who then responds (Peyton & Staton, 1990). The basic writing process remains constant: learners relate individual or group experiences to a teacher, but with message card as a specific activity it makes writing easier and more enjoyable for both learners and teachers.

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Gordimer (1982) said that all great writings are deeply personal and heartfelt. Teachers need to provide learners with opportunities to write about topics that are relevant to their lives, to participate in various writing activities, and to feel that their writing has value. By integrating writing into the use of message cards I hope to help learners find their own voices in their second or foreign language and develop the ability to communicate effectively in different contexts and with different audiences.

3.0 METHODOLOGY3.1 Target GroupThe class was Group 1 of the 3 OUM 14 Weeks in-service preparatory classes who attended the July to October 2009 session. I am the researcher with 35 adult learners in the class, of which 28 were female and 7 were male. They were primary school teachers who had been teaching various subjects in schools for at least 10 years. “English for Written Communication” was one of the subjects in the 14 weeks in-service course. As stated earlier, learners’ self-perception of proficiency level was mainly low (Table 1). I would make sure that they write a lot and in the process improve their writing as well as their language skills.

3.2 Description Of Research ContextThe “English for Written Communication” subject was a weekly three-hour lesson attended by all course participants. The rationale for this subject was that all learners admitted into OUM should be prepared to write in the English Language. The curriculum was set out by OUM and all course participants were provided with a self-learning module (OUM, 2008). This module consisted of ten topics, all of which presented various aspects of written communication:

Topic 1 dealt with some basic principles of written communication. Topic 2 was about letter writing, a basic form of communication. Topic 3 described ways to improve one’s writing skills. Topic 4 discussed report writing for technical and non-technical sectors. Topic 5 defined the language of business writing. Topic 6 dealt with short forms of written communication. Topic 7 dealt with persuasive writing. Topic 8 highlighted proposal writing. Topic 9 discussed the fundamentals of writing a research paper. Topic 10 discussed the steps one takes to write collaboratively with others on a joint project.

I approached my participants and asked if they would be willing to participate in my action research. During the first lesson I gained their permission to use my teaching as research and assured them that they would be protected from harmful consequences and that they would not be exposed to risks. I explained the rationale for my action research: I wanted to find out how a person best deals with the writing activity – what kind of support they needed and what kind of input was effective to develop their writing skills.

3.3 Data Collection

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In this research, I used four data sources:i. Message cards and message replies: these cards elicited information about

the nature of the lessons carried out and at the same time, analysis of the content of their writing furnished information with regards to progress of their writing skill. After each cycle of action, the message cards provided the basis for post-teaching reflection. Quotes (original, and no correction made) from the message cards shall be cited as “Fr pseudonym:date” to refer to the participant who wrote the message on the date stated. Replies from me were directed towards each individual participant based on the contents of their messages, and shall be cited as “To pseudonym:date”.

ii. Participant initial and concluding reflections were collected from the participants at the beginning of the course to obtain initial data to determine the correct course of action, and at the end of the course to obtain feedback about the effectiveness of my action. The feedback (original, and no correction made) shall be cited as “Reflection/pseudonym:date”

iii. Interview : A taped group reflection session at the completion of the writing exercise was carried out by Jenny, my researcher friend based on an interview schedule I have designed. Informants could choose to speak in either Bahasa Melayu (BM) or English Language. The interview was carried out in an informal setting in the Institute’s cafeteria, and on a voluntary basis. It provided the participants’ concluding thoughts and insights into the whole process of my teaching and learning and the messaging activities. The taped group reflection session was transcribed. Direct quotations from the informants would be cited as “Int:Inumber”. For example “Int:I1” indicated a direct quote from informant number 1 during the interview.

iv. Reflection journal : Data also consisted of my reflection journal documenting how I worked with my students, walked through the writing with them, recorded my thoughts and experiences as we went along (record in your reflective journal). I reflected on my actions, documented it, and evaluated it to see how it helped, or hindered, or could have been better. Quotes from the reflection journal shall be cited as “SR:date” to refer to my reflections of the teaching lesson conducted on the date stated.

Quotes in BM were translated in the footnotes. All documented reflections, communications and transcriptions were analyzed to elicit patterns and conclusions grounded by data. Such patterns and conclusions were collated and scanned to look for recurring themes that would surface. Such themes would form the theories that were findings grounded in the data that came from the teachers. Data mining in this way allowed me to analyze the data in depth to elicit a thick description of the phenomenon.

3.4 Implementation of Action In this action research, I used message cards to encourage my participants to inform me of their needs and at the same time provided them an authentic context to practice their writing skills. The message cards were cut out from a large piece of manila card. The dimensions were roughly three inches by two inches. I felt that this size would not be as intimidating as an A4 sized blank paper. The size of the message card suggested that a person need not be forced to write a lot. The casual appearance of the message card

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suggested that the importance is to get the message across without having to worry too much about grammar and language structure in the initial stages.

At the beginning of the course, I explained the function of the message card. Participants would use the card to write anything they wish to communicate to me but were shy to ask. The non-negotiable condition was that they had to write in English. They could write suggestions, questions, give opinions, or express their feelings about the day’s lesson. They could write in point forms or in complete sentences. The cards with messages were dropped into a box provided during every lesson. Participants were instructed include their pseudonym and the date.

Each lesson was a cycle of activities aimed primarily at developing writing skills based on the curriculum; other skills were incidental and complementary. There were altogether twelve cycles of three-hour lessons throughout the course duration. During these cycles, action and critical reflection took place in turns. “The reflection is used to review the previous action and plan the next one.” (Dick, 1997)

4.0 ACTION REPORT AND REFLECTIONSThe process and findings of the action research is reported in a qualitative style, using the first person approach in writing, with thick descriptions of experiences, thoughts and views and anecdotes to provide an in-depth insight into the processes involved in carrying out an action research. Quantitative data played a minor descriptive role in this report but reinforcing the qualitative data. The findings and conclusions were drawn from the density of recurring patterns elicited from the descriptive data. The narration drew heavily on data from the messages, reflections and interviews, with the intention of involving the reader in my experiences and the experiences of the participants.

4.1 Ways to Teach English for Written CommunicationAs an initial step to facilitate mutual adjustment and familiarization with my participants, I explained to them how I would conduct lessons and asked what they expected of me. I determined that explanation would be systematic, step by step and in simple English, followed by practice. Participants’ written product would be checked individually with face-to-face consultations and immediate feedback given. I would also make use of realistic contexts and newspaper materials. Feedback from the participants’ initial reflections had provided me with an insight to their preferred lesson strategies.

i. Traditional Teaching and Learning Strategies Contrary to contemporary exhortations about interesting, fun and innovative strategies to motivate learners in the classroom, analysis of the reflective questionnaire revealed that many of these adult learners suggested traditional strategies. Surprisingly, the most number of respondents requested for more exercises - “give more exercises, give more explanations, give more examples, give more guidance, need more discussions”.(Table 3). There were also requests to give notes based on the OUM Modules provided. I believe that was a good idea. I had in part carried out activities that the participants desired, that is explaining, modeling and giving exercises to be done in groups or individually.

Table 3: Preferred Lesson Strategies

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Lesson Strategies No. Of Respondents

Notes 9

Q&A 4

Email 2

Explanation 7

Exercises 16

Guidance 11

During the first lesson, I explained the mechanisms of writing, showed a good model of a business letter, and gave them a task to write a letter based on the example given. “I felt that since many requested for explanation and exercises, this is as good a strategy to start off as any” (SR:070709). Even then, my concern was whether they found any of the above strategies effective. Therefore I needed a means of immediate feedback– their opinions, feelings, thoughts, and suggestions - from my participants regarding the effectiveness of each lesson. Hence the idea of using the message cards to obtain their opinions.

ii. Individual Consultation I indicated that each individual or group could bring their finished work to consult with me.

I believed the practice of personal consultation on their work served as encouragement to most of the participants in the group to work on their business letter. In addition the face to face consultation made the feedback more immediate and relevant rather than marking and writing remarks on their work in absentia. We discussed the result of their efforts together and agreed upon the suggestions for improvement. I was kept busy the last part of the lesson attending to each individual (SR:070709).

I acted as a writing mentor, working together with the individual to help improve the content and organization of the composition. Asked about the opinion of effective strategies during the final interview, one of the informants (Int:R4) remarked, “Teknik mengajar satu persatu langkah…Setiap contoh yang diberi jelas, lepas itu kita buat latihan, kemudian akan periksa. Dia akan membuat pembetulan di situ juga, malah ada kelemahan, dia akan tambah. Lepas itu dia akan suruh kita buat balik. Dia akan kata, “Ah, ini better daripada ini1”

Because they were adults, I did not believe in forcing work on them. They were free to choose whether to work on the task or not. Their messages indicated their specific problems that I could focus on during individual consultations, for example, “not understanding the words, how to use the words” (Rose 73, Aly), “writing down ideas” (Ijac),” I asking for help to improve communication skills” (Angek), “spelling” (I’zah), “learning English” (Salomah Kelo). I hoped that this collaborative relationship would help the participant become more comfortable as a writer. Helping learners overcome their fear of writing is critical to effective writing instruction (Stasz et al., 1991).

1 Translation: Teaching technique step by step. Every example clearly explained, then we do exercises, after that checking, on the spot. If there is any flaw she will correct, and ask us to re-do. Then she will say, “Ah, this is better than that.”

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iii. Translation for Understanding During one class lesson, I was explaining how to write letters, the format, and the tips to write with minimum grammar errors. After I was done explaining, there was silence. Then one participant spoke up in BM and said she “tidak faham2” and suggested that I taught bilingually. I felt conflicted. I have long held the view that translating to BM is not the best way to teach English. Most linguists are of the opinion that a second language can be taught without translating it into the learner's native tongue (Muhammad, 2005). There is no one right way to teach English but a degree of sensitivity to the needs of the learners and flexibility is required to accommodate different interests, different social backgrounds personalities and learning needs of the students. In order for the lesson to proceed, I repeated everything in BM and code-mixed because I was not totally proficient in BM. “I was also mindful of my feelings of impatience –what is there not to understand? I have already used such simple English. I realized that this feeling of intolerance arose because a high level of mastery of the English language has made me not quite able to empathize how difficult it was for others to learn and acquire the language”. (SR:140709). Ferrer’s (n.d.) study on Spanish respondents also indicated that they viewed the desirability of, at times, providing learners with the English translation of what they are trying and finding difficult to say as a way of scaffolding or aiding their output.

iv. Slowly, Systematically, Step-by-step From the messages I learnt that what worked about my teaching was carrying out the lesson slowly and systematically, giving explanation step by step, and using translation when necessary.

“Dear Madam, I like the way you explain everything. Step by step, thoroughly. That really helps a lot.” (Sifamogha, 14/07/09). “You give the explaination about one topic step by step. It’s make us to understand the lesson easily..” (Acailong, 14/07/09)I understand 50% what are lesson. Please go slowly the part is very difficult because I can’t follow you (Ateh 66, 14/07/09)I hope madam can translation to B Malaysia if madam teaching in my class (Ana, 14/07/09), Thank you for teaching us and be patient with us (Flo, 140709)

When asked during the interview about the strategies that helped, the responses were “Penerangan berkenaan satu persatu diterangkan mengikut urutan3”, and “Pengulangan menjadi peneguhan; yang tidak tahu menjadi akan tahu4.”

v. Focus on the writing, not the grades Like school students, the participants were absorbed with getting grades on their work (Figure 2). There were requests for exam focused guidance and grades, for example “I would like lecturer to guide me on how to write answers during exam give my grade” (Salomah Kelo, 21/07/09). I had to make them understand that writing was a process that they might not get perfect at the first draft. “But it could be frustrating and

2 Translation: did not understand3 Translation: each explanation done logically4.Translation: Repetition engenders reinforcement, what is not known, became known

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exasperating when I saw errors being repeated over and over again despite pointing out to them the importance of format in business letter writing. I have to keep reminding myself that these are matured adults – school teachers! So reprimanding them like school students is out. I learn to be patient”. (SR: 070709)

Figure 2: Absorption with Grades

At the end of each three-hour lesson, the participants dropped their messages into the box. Over the next couple of weeks, the cycles of practice were repeated. I based my next course of action for the subsequent lesson on the feedback I obtained in the message cards. In the initial cycles, as I expected the messages were responses (Figure 3) to the lesson taught on that day. They gave feedback on my teaching (Joanne, Angek, Putriziqa, BigBrother, Pisces, Acailong, Sifamogha, Mommy Cute, Ateh 66, Ana, 14/07/09). There was a suggestion that I teach using bi-lingual languages, “Can you explain your lesson in bilingual?” (Cool Mummy, 14/07/09)

Figure 3: Feedback about the Day’s lesson

vi. Group Work with Newspaper Towards the second third of the course, I noticed that the participants began to think about working together and exploring ways to tackle their examination, in addition to the routine feedback on the day’s lesson and problems faced. “I would like to suggest more group activities which involve English speaking to improve our writing” (Mommy Cute, Salomah Kelo: 210709)

I decided to incorporate the concept of NIE (newspaper in education) with group work. I asked the participants to bring newspapers. I made use of the newspapers to engage the participants in a more authentic context for English Language use. After showing them a model letter of application, I asked them to select a newspaper advertisement for vacancies and write the letter. I thought that a realistic context would make the activity

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more interesting. In another lesson, I told them to read through the newspaper share with the class interesting news they could find in the papers. I could see that they took this seriously – they were poring over the articles. The task that followed was to write letters of complaints. The participants read through the newspaper and reported to the group about issues that could be used as stimulus to write a letter of complaint. When the time came for “stand and tell”, the more proficient participants did very well. But it was the weaker participants that I felt a sense of gratification. They tried very hard and appreciated the experience.

“Dear Dr. Goh, your lesson is very beneficial today. I had forgotten all my writing skills. So this is a good refreshment of the mind” (Mommy Cute, 14/07/09)

During the interview, one informant (Int:R8) said that I “beri peluang buat kerja secara perbincangan dalam kumpulan, dan kami dapat memberi idea dalam kumpulan kemudian kami buat pembentangan”5.

4.2 How Message Cards Encouraged WritingIt appeared that the use of the message cards was effective. 24 out of 25 respondents wrote in their final reflections that the use of the message cards encouraged them to write in English. How was the use of message cards effective in encouraging participants’ writing skill? Some of the participants wrote that “It is a good way of writing practice and also the good feeling of getting a respond from the lecturer” (Pisces, Reflections, 090909). “Setiap berlakunya pengajaran pembelajaran, pasti ada di kalangan kami yang akan memberi kad mesej untuk respon. Mungkin separuh atau pun 80 peratus hantar beri kad mesej”.6

i. Messages as Dialogues In my initial plan, I saw the message cards as an additional form of writing exercise. But as I read their messages, I saw that some of them needed answers (Figure 4). “Initial reading of the cards made me realize that there is a need to reply to some of the messages, especially those with questions. Therefore, instead of merely receiving the messages and acting on it, I went one step further and answered to some of the cards. We appeared to have started a message dialogue”. (SR:140709)

5 Translation: Gave opportunity to do discussion in groups and we could give ideas in groups and after that make presentation6 Translation:After every lesson, there is sure to be some among us who handed up the message cards to respond. Maybe half, or 80 per cent handed up the message cards

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Figure 4: Message Dialogue

Participants viewed the message cards practice as a form of communication in addition to improving their writing skills. Allwright (1977) theorised that “if the 'language teacher's' management activities are directed exclusively at involving the learners in solving communication problems in the target language, then language learning will take care of itself ...” (p. 5). Beyond the feedback on my teaching, I observed that the messages took other forms as well. There were lesson-related questions. “What kind of letter can we use ‘yours faithfully’? (Pisces, 14/07/09). There were expressions of problems with learning English. Jess (14/07/09) wrote that she was “confuse to write good sentence structure in English”. The participants (Rose 73, Ana,Paizah, Aly, Fisabililah, D Fab, MSASDN) also asked help to improve their oral English, written English, spelling, and vocabulary. “My English very por. I need you help to improve my oral and written skill. Please teach me.” (D Fab, 14/07/09). What I saw as most obligatory for me to meet was their (Rose 73, Mya, Juvie, Ito, Putriziqa) expression of hope for improvement “I’m not that very good in English. I’m hoping I can improve English better during this 3 months course” (Juvie, 14/07/09).

ii. Overt Error Correction I attempted to correct their language errors by repeating their words or sentences in my message replies, with correct structure as a form of scaffolding. Krashen (1988) suggested that students can acquire language on their own provided that they get comprehensible input. So for example, when MSASDN (140709) wrote “..I want to success speak in English..”. I overtly corrected “to success speak in English” by replacing it with “to be proficient in English” (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Overt Correction of language

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In time, they were able to recapitulate the day’s lesson. This indicated their skills in paraphrasing. (Figure 6)

Figure 6: Paraphrasing skills

iii. Longer Messages The participants in this research appeared to be engaged in these writing activities and expressed enjoyment for being able to write freely. They also exhibited pride in what they had written and were willing to share their messages with friends. Over the duration of the course, the messages increased in length (Mommy Cute, Mummy Cool, Lam, D’Fab) I felt that was an indication of the participants developing readiness and ability to write longer and in continuous prose. For example, Mommy Cute’s (180909) message took up three cards (Figure 7), compared to an earlier message, “Dear Dr. Goh, your lesson is very beneficial today. I had forgotten all my writing skills. So this is a good refreshement of the mind. Keep up the good work” (fr. Mummy Cute, 140709).

Figure 7: Longer Messages

I took that as an indication of progress in their writing ability. Research has indicated that students who like to write will probably write more, and an increase in the amount of writing improves the quality of writing (Armstrong, 1988; Atwell, 1998; Nowacek, 2006; Senacore, 1998; Schwertman & Corey, 1989).

iv. Expansion of the message genre

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It appeared that a teacher’s job is not just to teach and deliver information. When a comfortable level of trust and familiarity is achieved, the participant’s message genre may include that of the personal nature and other subjects (Figure 8). Writing for authentic purposes and being able to write about personal experiences are effective ways for students to improve their writing (Atwell, 1998; Street, 2005; Graham & Perrin, 2007).

Figure 9: Expansion of message genre (Aly 040809 &D’Fab, 040800)

Some cards (Mummy Cool, Mommy Cute, D Fab) came with pretty graphic stickers, the types which school teachers stick on their students’ pages for good work done. This appeared to indicate that the learners took pleasure in writing the message cards. A profusion of graphic stickers could also indicate contrition for forgetting their notes (Figure 9).

Figure 9: Message with graphic stickers

This finding was repeated during the final interview:

Pada pandangan saya, mesej kad itu merapatkan hubungan tutor dengan studentnya. Dia akan berhubung apa saja keinginan seorang pelajar ataupun rasa hati pelajar itu, contohnya kerisausan tentang peperiksaan, bertanyakan tentang cara-cara untuk skor dalam penulisan. Itulah kebaikan message card7.(Int:I5)

7 Translation: In my opinion the message card developed close relations between tutor and students. (The student) can communicate any needs or feelings, for example, worry about exams, ways to score in writing. That is the good thing about message card

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This form of free writing approaches the language teaching of the learner as a 'whole person'; a humanistic aspect of learning where the experience of the student is what counts and the development of their personality and the encouragement of positjve feelings are seen to be as important as their learning of a language (Harmer, 1991).

v. Anonymity of the Messenger The anonymity (Putriziqa, Mummy Cute, Aly) of the messenger turned out to be a positive factor in encouraging writing. Putriziqa (Reflections: 090909) wrote, “I can write any message about my problems in written without you know who I am. So, I am not shy to write my problem. This was not unlike the practice of communicating over the internet and on-line fórum discussions. Such practice was beneficial for the more reserved individuals who dealt better with non face-to-face communication. “It is a very creative way to communicate with your students. Especially for us who are a bit ‘shy’” (Sifamogha, Reflections:090909). During the interview it was said that “cara itu menyebabkan orang yang segan bercakap atau tidak mahu bercakap dalam kelas boleh menyampai pesanlah8” (Int: I4). In this case, participants were encouraged by the personal attention and response to their message. “The message cards really work for us to ask question to our lecturer. It is one way for us to overcome our lack of confidence to see/meet lecturer face to face” (Acailong, Reflections:090909). For my opinion message cards is to encourage to my write in English. for you ideal. I not shy to I don’t understands (Jan, Reflections: 090909). Some comments made during the final interview reflected their perceptions:

Sangat membantu kerana seorang yang tidak pandai bercakap atau segan dapat menulis mesej kad ini 9(Int: I8)Itu adalah cara yang terbaik dalam mengenal masalah pelajar10.(Int: I2) Ia juga boleh menambah kemahiran kita untuk menulis soalan dalam bahasa inggeris11 (Int: I3)

This phenomena is not unlike the benefits of on-line discussions. It was observed that some students who kept quiet in the classroom thrived during online discussions largely due to personality differences and preferred learning style (Zoraini, 2008).

vi. Extending the Class Lesson Research (Schwertman & Corey, 1989; Atwell, 1998; Senacore, 1998; Nowacek, 2006). has indicated that giving writers extended time and multiple opportunities to practice the writing processes helps them develop the writing habits. Hayes and Nash (1996) found a strong relationship between the amount of time spent on writing and the quality of theircompositions. With the use of the message cards, the teaching and learning process did not merely start and end within the three hours of class lesson. Students made use of

8 Translation: This method allowed the shy one or the one who does not want to speak to send a request9 Translation: Help a lot because a person who is not good with speaking or is shy can write on the message card10 Translation: This is the best method to know a student’s problem11 Translation: It can also improve our skills in writing questions in English Language

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the cards to ask questions, ask for help and give suggestions for further action outside the classroom:

Dia memberi peluang kepada semua untuk tanya yang tidak ada peluang. Masa pun tidak begitu free, kalau semua hendak bertanya jadi bila dia akan belajar? Apa yang saya tidak tahu, kami berhubung melalui kad message. Bila dapat respons, rasa gembiralah. Baguslah12 (Int: I6)This can give us the chance to ask more questions and get feedback (Int: I5)

4.3 LEARNING POINTSi. The Personal TouchWhen I brought my box of cards into the room during the lesson (SR: 210707), the replies to some messages were inside. I told the participants to collect the reply messages addressed to their pseudonym. “Immediately, I saw a rush of eagerness to get to the box. I was surprised. I realized then that the personal attention was a motivator worth exploring. I saw some faces fell when they realized that there was no message for them” (SR: 210709). D’Fab (210709) wrote, “I am waiting for you respon message but I don’t accepted today” I felt terrible for disappointing the participant. I replied with apology .

The replies were appreciated (Mummy Cute, Apo 09, Putriziqa, D Fab, Cool Mummy): “Thank you for reply my message. I appreciate that. I hope u patient teach me and our group” (D Fab, 28/07/09). Subsequently I distributed the message cards for writing. It was greeted with enthusiasm. I collected written messages from two-thirds of the class.

It appears that in teaching adults, patience is a ‘good to have’ virtue. In an incident when the participants forgot to bring their notes, I had to make photocopies so that lesson could go on. They were so apologetic. “..I apologise for our forgetting to bring our notes.”

.(Mommy Cool: 010909). Sometimes perspectives affect respective parties in different ways. The interview data at the end of the course revealed that an incident which I viewed as trivial and forgettable was a significant issue in the participants’ perceptions. This was a learning point which I have brought to my subsequent adult classess.

Penuh kesabaran dia . Contoh, ada edaran yang dibagi dulu, ramai yang tak bawa. So apa dia nak buat? So dia sendiri yang talipon minta kawan dia untuk fotostat and ask our ketua kelas pergi ambil. Dia tidak marah. Saya begitu hairan tahap kesabarannya. Saya sendiri yang malu. Lepas itu, semua tidak berani meninggal nota sudah, rasa segan mahu tertinggal. Sebab dia buat begitu, kan? Tidak marah, kan? Paling suka, dia sentiasa senyum, buat kita minat lah. Kita tidak stress13 (Int: I6)

12 Translation: She gave everyone who did not have the chance, the opportunity to ask. She is not that free, if all want to ask, when can she teach? What I did not know, we communicated through the message card. When I get her response, I feel happy. That is good.

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5.0 CONCLUSIONS5.1 What worked?I started the action research on the message writing activity with a two-fold aim; first, find out what teaching and learning strategies work for my learners in the “English for Written Communications” class, and second, to find out the effectiveness of message cards in encouraging the participants to write. A direct result of the message card practice was that I obtained immediate feedback about my lesson strategies from the learners. For example, Putrizuqa (280709) wrote, “.. when I learn about the writing letter, I can improved my skills in written. I have much knowledge about the type of letter.”

I learnt that what worked about my teaching was carrying out the lesson slowly and systematically, giving explanation step by step, and using translation when necessary. I realized that traditional methods of consciously learning the language still worked. Harmer (1991) suggested that “the use of tasks and the provision of a lot of comprehensible input will..allow students to activate their knowledge and .. help to provide them with a rich language store” (p. 71). The participants welcomed the clearly explained language work which they could then use to 'create' new sentences: as they found that they were getting the language right thus giving them a strong feeling of security.

More importantly, I learnt that the participants’ motivation to develop the language and writing skill was sustained with the increasing regard we had for one another. In many ways, it was the positive response by my learners to my strategies that gave me confidence and belief in the effectiveness of my actions.

5.2 Progress, Not MasteryThe learners thought there have been improvements made in their writing skills. “Saya sangat tertarik dengan teknik menulis message cards sebab secara tidak langsung telah membantu cara penulisan saya di dalam EWC14” (Int:I3). In the final interview, an informant said, “Dulu exam SPM, kertas bahasa inggeris, saya tulis campur-campur bahasa inggeris dan bahasa melayu. Sekarang ini saya bangga, exam ini tiada bahasa melayu pun boleh15” (Int:I1). Another informant (Int:I7) said that the message cards, “membantu saya dapat membina kemahiran saya dalam penulisan bahasa inggeris walaupun pada dasarnya saya amat kurang kemahiran dalam menulis bahasa inggeris16.”

13Translation: She was very patient. For example, many of us forgot to bring a handout she gave in the past. So what did she do? She herself phoned her colleague to make photocopies and asked our class head to go and collect. She was not angry. I was amazed at her patience. I myself was embarrassed. After that, none of us dared to leave our notes behind – too shy. Because she was like that, right? Not angry, right? I like best that she always smile. Made us interested. We are not stressed.14 Translation: I am attracted to the message card writing technique because indirectly it has helped my writing in EWC (English for Written Communiations)15 Translaltion: Previously in the SPM English Language paper, I write in mixed English Language and Bahasa Melayu. Now I am proud that in this exam, I can do it without Bahasa Melayu16 Translation: Helped build my English Language writing skills although basically I am very poor in English Language writing

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But they did not become excellent writers in a short period of 14 weeks. I was mindful of Kemmis and McTaggart’s (1988) caution against expecting immediate and substantial success, suggesting that real change usually breeds a certain amount of incompetence (p. 87). My learners had not mastered the skills necessary to write a perfect message. “I am pragmatic enough not to expect that. What I hoped was that this exercise would whet their interest in writing so that they could make writing in English a sustainable habit long after this course is over”. (SR:070909).

5.3 Teacher Qualities CountsI learnt that an effective lesson is not just about strategies. An interesting remark about “Pendekatan di mana dia ambil tahu” appeared to indicate that teacher qualities also play a significant role in motivating learners to learn. “Seolah-olah dia memberi perhatian kepada kitalah. Cara bila dia balas reply itu, dia memberi perhatian kepada kita….17” (Int: I4). Inadvertently, the message cards revealed that the participants’ motivation to learn appeared also to be influenced by teacher qualities such as “nice” (Ateh 66, MSASDN), friendly (Ateh 66, Putriziqa), smiling (D’fab), understanding (BigBrother) polite (BigBrother) guidance (Juvie, Bet), kind (putriziqa), dedicated (Mya), patience (D’Fab). I think the message cards worked because the combined teacher characteristics encouraged them to show commitment in the teaching and learning process. An informal study was conducted on English language teachers in Britain, Finland and Spain with half EFL students and half British secondary school children to assess the qualities a teacher needs to help in providing intrinsic motivation. It appeared that the two areas that most of the people mentioned were the teacher's rapport with the students and the teacher's personality (Harmer,1991). Other studies have also shown that when teachers care about their students and positive student-teacher relationships develop, student retention, attitudes, and achievement are all positively affected (Meyer & Turner, 2006; Miller, 2007).

5.4 Low Tech Works Too!I am very heavily dependant on the computer for all kinds of work. I even used the computer to print out my message replies. So one might wonder why in this age of technology and internet, I am still using a “low tech” technique of communication. Why the message cards? “Low-tech teaching, as long as it’s good teaching, needs to be respected, even in this high-tech world we live in” (Russert, 2008). The answer lay in making the best use of the participants’ circumstances. In situations where internet disruptions were frequent, message cards became a relatively more constant and reliable form of interactive and personal communications. ”Although the OUM participants have their online fórum discussion, I felt that it would not capture the immediate queries and ideas fresh on their minds following the lessons” (SR:190909 ). In addition, I surmised that the act of writing messages on cards was more personal and demonstrated a higher level of caring and attention. “It is something that I’m going to miss after this course because the messages are very encouraging” (Reflections/I’jae/ 090909). The personal attention to their voice was a motivating factor in sustaining their message writing activity.

17 Translation: As if she give attention to us. The way she reply, is like she give attention to us.133

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6.0 SUGGESTIONS FOR SUBSEQUENT ACTIONSOther variations of using message writing activities are on-line forums, phone SMS, dialogue journal, collective blogs, facebook, and messages on boards. I believe the motivating factor underlining the success of such actions is the perception of individual and personal attention rendered to each participant, where such attention was unavailable during class.

An extension of this research would be to approach it from a linguistic perspective and examine the message cards to analyse the errors learners made in writing and the aspects they have improved over the duration of the message activity. I believe such an exercise in error analysis would provide me a deeper understanding to aid non-native language teaching.

By finding out what writing strategies learners prefer and what the use of message cards can do, I could share this information with other instructors, thereby adding to the resources they could draw upon to help their learners become better writers. This would help their learners become more confident writers, improve their chances of passing their written test, and be able to write for a variety of purposes in their lives.

I could also share this information with professional development staff, who would then incorporate it into workshops and trainings for writing pedagogies. Another purpose for conducting this study was to add to the research that has been done on adult writing literacy. Unfortunately, research on message cards as a strategy to teach adults to write is limited and unspecific. Because most of the research on what improves student writing has been done with school-age children and not with adults, teachers often use the strategies that are successful for school-age children and adapt them for their adult learners. Although it is a comon notion, teachers need current research conducted on the beneficial use of message cards with adult language learners to inform their practice.

7.0 END NOTEI have never ceased to be amazed by the fact that the conscious effort of reflection, analysis and action not only allowed me to be a better teacher, but it also revealed to me truths and realizations that I could only attain through a meta awareness of the chain of events and human interactions. As Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) suggested, action research is undertaken to improve the rationality and justice of the participants' own social or educational practices. It is also engaged in order to understand these practices and the situations in which they are carried out. Research of this nature has been my preferred genre because such experiences are meaningful and invaluable to me. The type of writing in reporting the research is essentially reflective and consequently the thought processes involved in verbalizing my actions allowed a clearer, more analytical review of steps taken. In this way, I learned the experiences twice – once in the implementation of the action, and again in reviewing through the actions. Wadsworth (1991) describes this process as being one where action is intentionally researched and modified, leading to the next stage of action which is then again intentionally examined for further change, and so on. This opens up my awareness of the character of things probably not seen through superficial or quantitative analysis. I understood the nature of adult learners better; and I learnt that andragogy was not all about strategies, but also

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needed the teacher’s personal engagement, patience and caring. Ultimately, a teacher motivates the learners through their hearts and minds.

Dr. Goh Lay Huah is a senior lecturer in the Research and Innovations Department in the Malaysian Teacher Education Institute, Gaya Campus, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Her forte is education research, and her research focus is ICT in education, teaching English Language, and change management. She can be reached at gohlayhuah@yahoo.com

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