Writing Proficiency in English at the Primary School Level in Slovakia

Pavol Burcl

Writing Proficiency in English at the Primary School Level in Slovakia

Looking Back and Moving Forward

by Pavol Burcl (Author)
©2020, Monographs, 192 Pages
English Studies

This book analyses the role of writing as an integral part of communicative competence in the teaching/learning process, particularly in TEFL at Slovak primary schools. The author chooses primary schools in the Nitra Self-governing Region in Slovakia as the sample, with an intention to find out if primary school learners in Slovakia understand the instructions to the written exercises they are given. He analyses the mistakes/errors they usually make, and judges the criteria for reaching the expected level of writing proficiency in English. Using the very same methodology, he compares a previous research with the current situation, taking all aspects into account.

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Preface
About the author
About the book
Citability of the eBook
Contents
1 About writing
- 1.1 Various definitions of writing
- 1.2 The nature, purposes, and problems of writing
  - 1.2.1 Why writing is difficult
  - 1.2.2 Purposes of writing
  - 1.2.3 Micro-skills involved in writing
- 1.3 Speaking vs. writing
2 On the way to written production
- 2.1 The second/foreign language acquisition
- 2.2 Children as learners
  - 2.2.1 A good language learner
  - 2.2.2 Young learners and their motivation
- 2.3 Good teachers
  - 2.3.1 The quality of EFL teachers
  - 2.3.2 Teachers vs. learners: The language of instruction
- 2.4 Learning to write in English
  - 2.4.1 The position of mother tongue and second/foreign language in learning to write English
  - 2.4.2 Basic principles for teaching writing
  - 2.4.3 Developing writing skills
  - 2.4.4 Understanding the text and its processing
3 Responding to learners’ writing
- 3.1 The teacher as controller and assessor
  - 3.1.1 The teacher as controller
  - 3.1.2 The teacher as assessor
- 3.2 Mistakes
  - 3.2.1 Notions of mistakes
  - 3.2.2 Correcting written assignments
4 The CEFRL and writing
- 4.1 The CEFRL and plurilingualism
- 4.2 Writing according to the CEFRL
  - 4.2.1 Written production (writing) activities
  - 4.2.2 Written interaction
- 4.3 The CEFRL and writing in English lessons at Slovak primary schools
  - 4.3.1 Competences according to the CEFRL
    - 4.3.1.1 General competences
    - 4.3.1.2 Communicative language competence
  - 4.3.2 The CEFRL and writing English in English lessons
5 Curricula and education standards for teaching English at Slovak primary schools
- 5.1 Curricula
  - 5.1.1 Variant for Grades 3 to 9
  - 5.1.2 Variant for Grades 5 to 9
  - 5.1.3 Variant for Grades 1 to 9
- 5.2 Education standards
- 5.3 A few words about comparing the CEFRL and national curricula
6 Slovaks and writing
- 6.1 How Slovaks understand the importance of writing
- 6.2 How Slovaks feel about writing English
- 6.3 Initial points of the research on writing in English lessons at Slovak primary schools
  - 6.3.1 Some problematic details of academic research in philological faculties at Slovak universities
  - 6.3.2 Research on writing proficiency at the primary school level
7 Our own research on writing skills in 2008
- 7.1 Outline of the research
- 7.2 Methodology of the research
  - 7.2.1 Objective of the research
  - 7.2.2 Research techniques
    - 7.2.2.1 Dictation
      - 7.2.2.1.1 Arguments against dictation
      - 7.2.2.1.2 Arguments for dictation
    - 7.2.2.2 Guided/controlled writing
  - 7.2.3 Selection of respondents
  - 7.2.4 Location: The Nitra Self-Governing Region
  - 7.2.5 Data processing methods
  - 7.2.6 Description of the test given
    - 7.2.6.1 A dictation exercise
    - 7.2.6.2 A guided letter writing exercise with a gap to fill
    - 7.2.6.3 Guided/controlled rewriting of a short text
  - 7.2.7 Assessment
- 7.3 Hypotheses on the test given
- 7.4 Data analysis and comments on mistakes
  - 7.4.1 Dictation
  - 7.4.2 A guided letter writing exercise with a gap to fill
  - 7.4.3 Guided/controlled rewriting of the short text
- 7.5 Data analysis and comments on the results of the test given
  - 7.5.1 Dictation
  - 7.5.2 A guided letter writing exercise with a gap to fill
  - 7.5.3 Guided/controlled rewriting of the short text
- 7.6 Hypotheses verification
  - 7.6.1 Hypothesis 1
  - 7.6.2 Hypothesis 2
- 7.7 A few words on our ‘that-time’ research (our original literal commentary from 2008)
8 Old-new challenges, old-new problems
- 8.1 A lack/loss of motivation
  - 8.1.1 Notions of motivation
  - 8.1.2 Unmotivated teachers
  - 8.1.3 Unmotivated learners
    - 8.1.3.1 Why they give up
    - 8.1.3.2 How to avoid problems with motivation
- 8.2 The new roles of writing
  - 8.2.1 Debates over the methodology of teaching/learning
  - 8.2.2 A digital era vs. writing
    - 8.2.2.1 Texting, messaging
    - 8.2.2.2 Blogging
    - 8.2.2.3 E-books
- 8.3 Brexit vs. the English language teaching/learning
  - 8.3.1 Consequences of Brexit (language policy of the EU)
  - 8.3.2 Consequences of Brexit (TEFL in Slovakia)
9 New micro-research 2017
- 9.1 Outline of the research
- 9.2 Methodology of the research
  - 9.2.1 Objectives of the research
  - 9.2.2 Research techniques
  - 9.2.3 Selection of respondents
  - 9.2.4 Location: The Nitra Self-Governing Region
  - 9.2.5 Data processing methods
  - 9.2.6 Description of the test given
  - 9.2.7 Assessment
- 9.3 Hypotheses on the test given
- 9.4 Data analysis and comments on mistakes
  - 9.4.1 Dictation
  - 9.4.2 A guided letter writing exercise with a gap to fill
  - 9.4.3 Guided/controlled rewriting of the short text
- 9.5 Data analysis and comments on the results of the test given
  - 9.5.1 Dictation
  - 9.5.2 A guided letter writing exercise with a gap to fill
  - 9.5.3 Guided/controlled rewriting of the short text
- 9.6 Hypotheses verification
  - 9.6.1 Hypothesis 1
  - 9.6.2 Hypothesis 2
Conclusion
Outputs and implications
Annex 1A – The test given
Annex 1B – Assignment sheet
Annex 2 – The model of 3 stages in ‘new’ European plurilingual education
List of figures and graphs
List of tables
Useful glossary
Glossary resources
Bibliography
Online bibliography
Further online resources, webpages

Pages:

192

Year:

2020

ISBN (HARDBACK):

9783631737682 (Active)

ISBN (EPUB):

9783631737705 (Active)

ISBN (PDF):

9783631737699 (Active)

DOI:

10.3726/b12323

Language:

English

Keywords:

problems, Writing skills, Proficiency, Mistakes, Primary school

Published:

Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Warszawa, Wien, 2020. 192 pp., 1 fig. col., 39 fig. b/w, 34 tables.

Pavol Burcl is an assistant professor of English at Jazykové centrum, Filozofická Fakulta, Univerzita Konštantína Filozofa, Nitra, Slovakia. He is specialised in the Theory of Teaching English Language and Literature as well as in Translation Studies.

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Writing Proficiency in English at the Primary School Level in Slovakia

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