The main aim of the empirical research was to gain a sufficient amount of information from the participants’ test results and interviews with some students and teachers. The first step was therefore the gaining of access and establishing of contact with the participants. The second was getting their permission to volunteer in the study and finally the fieldwork study was conducted.
The steps that were followed in this study were:
4.8.1 Gaining Access
First I got a letter from my supervisor which explained my research work and the objectives of my study. This letter was forwarded to the Libyan Embassy in London in order to seek their permission for field work in Libya (see Appendix A1).
Once in Libya I took the supporting letter to the English Department in both AlJabal Al Garbi and Tripoli Universities where I planned to conduct my fieldwork. Before starting the fieldwork, the project required ethical approval which was the next step.
4.8.2 Ethical Issues
With reference to the importance of ethical approval prior to conducting research that involves human subjects, official approval was obtained from AlJabal Al Garbi and Tripoli universities (see appendix A.1.3).
At the beginning of the study the subjects were told that their participation in this experimental study was entirely voluntary. There were two main different groups of participants and each group had to sign the consent form relating to their involvement before participating in the project including interviews, which were:
1) informed consent for experimental groups participation
2) Informed consent for interview participation. ( pre- post conferencing)
The participants were informed that all the data collected would be confidential and that their participation in the tests and informal interview would be anonymous.
4.8.3 Procedures
1. The study was completed within one term and the classes were taught by their regular teacher. The researchers did not teach the classes because it was the assumption of this study that any teaching effects in the experiment should not have a major impact on the reliability of the findings of the study. If the researcher taught, there would be a focus on a desired result and the result could have been affected by the researcher’s effort and not the method, I therefore was a non-participant observer only in order to minimise any possible effects on the results.
2. The students were encouraged to write paragraphs (such as summaries about certain texts or reading) and weekly essays and submit their work for assessment. The control group got only written feedback on their paragraphs and essays; the treatment group discussed their writing with their teacher (face to face feedback). Both groups were asked to revise their work once and then submit the revised piece to be evaluated. By the end of the term, the students had been practicing writing based on either the written comments or the face-to-facecomments and discussion. They thus, revised, reorganized and edited their writing several times as it was done weekly. Upon completion of the term, the post test and post interviews were conducted.
3. In both groups, learners were required to write two drafts for each writing assignment. Teachers asked learners to bring in their first draft for correcting them. In the treatment group, the students came to see the teacher for one –to-one where they had a chance to discuss their writing with their instructor and enabled them to seek clarification and negotiate meanings to avoid misunderstanding However, due to time constraints and the number of the students, the instructors sometimes discussed students’ writing in groups having marked the students’ papers beforehand. With FACE-TO-FACE FEEDBACK strategy, teachers can provide an environment which is suitable for students who suffer from anxiety and shyness in front of others "provide a non-stress environment for learners who are shy or overly concerned about their oral language proficiency" (Huang, 1998: p.2).
4.8.3.1 Pedagogical design of the writing program
Course Title: Writing 3 (English Department) - credits: 4; it is the third course in a sequence of five writing courses.
Course Duration: The course is about four months, taught four hours twice a week (Two two- hour sessions).
Department Responsible for Teaching: English Language Department, Faculty of Education at Tripoli University.
Duration of the program: 4 years.
Students: Third year English majors, writing is a required course.( see Appendix for the program requirement for both universities where the study have been done)
Materials: There is no certain materials that have to be followed, one of the basic materials that have been used is a book called College Writing from paragraph to essay(see Appendix 6 A). This book was chosen because provides the variety of activities for learners
Teachers of writing: one of them has two years’ experience in English language teaching at Tripoli University and the other teacher has many years in Aljabal AlGarabi (Yefren). Assessment scheme followed in the course is out of 100 which contain midterm exam 40%
and final exam 60%. The table below illustrates that :
Table 4.2: Assessment Scheme for the Writing Course.
Assessment Tool Percentage out of 100%
Test one ( assignments and activities as part of midterm exam)
20%
Test two ( midterm exam) 20%
Final Exam 60%
4.8.3.2 Course Aims
a. According to the official course description as written in the university documents, the course is to develop third year students’ ability in academic writing skills. Also, the course aims to help students feel more confident while writing in English and improve students’ ability to write coherent short essays. In general, the course objective is to develop students’ writing in ways which would benefit them in their academic studies in the English Language Department since they are being prepared to be English teachers. I think the course aim is hard to enhance because I believe that would only happen if students learned how to write good paragraphs and, good essays from the first year. The first part of the term was too basic for this and just gave a basic introduction to writing essays and academic writing such as how to write an outline, how to organize the ideas and develop the topic.
b. In the four-month term period, both theory and practice with a view to writing clearly organized and simple argumentative paragraphs and essays had to be covered. As indicated by the official course description, the ‘’writing 3’’ course is to
Teach the students the writing modes, rhetorical devices and language points required for academic success. Students are given the opportunity to explore their opinions, discuss their ideas, and share their experiences through written communication. Students are introduced to practice writing short essays on different topics.
4.8.3.3 Some Features of the Course
1- The role of grammar in writing is recognized in general and students were encouraged to follow the grammatical rules and use them in their writing.
2- Some punctuation worksheets and exercises were given to the classes as an activity in the writing lesson.
3- Some useful linking words and phrases for essays were provided for students as well (see Appendix: 6:B)
4- Some exercises regarding linking words were provided for students to develop coherence within their writing through FACE-TO-FACE FEEDBACK.