Developing Written Presentational Communication

Action Research Proposal

Robin Spurger
EDUC: 429-
The Professional Secondary World Language Teacher
I. Action Research Proposal
Questions:
- How can students improve their presentational writing skills?
- What are the other implications developing presentational writing skills will have on
student learning?
- What types of activities will have the greatest impact on student learning in this
vicinity?
As beginning language learners, students often experience difculty with
expressing themselves in oral as well as written forms of communication. Through the
exercises in this intensive strategy of developing written presentational communication,
students will gain the skills they need to be effective communicators with native
speakers of the target language. They will use journals to practice presentational
writing, using teacher/researcher created prompts which call for differentiated audience
directed thought. Journals are often used as tools to help students make sense of new
content. For example, students might practice the use of new vocabulary in the context
of a thematic situation. When shared with the teacher, journals can also be used as
tools for formative assessment because they are continually providing feedback on
instruction.
Relevance
Not many teachers work on written presentational communication at the novice
level, but this type of communication is arguably the most important because it requires
students to connect with the language on an application level. It is widely known that
Robin Spurger 2
when students gain meaning and purpose through their work, they are more motivated
to complete it with larger goals in mind than simply receiving a grade. Therefore, not
only achievement improves, but also the quality of the work increases. Practicing writing
through the use of journals will allow students to grow and mature, not only in their
knowledge of Spanish, but in other areas as well such as collaborative skills,
communicative skills in general and self-development. This research will also benet
one!s growth as a professional teacher by increasing one!s knowledge of systematic
methods of collecting and tracking student data and progress. It will not only help one
learn how to collect this information but also how to reect on it and analyze it in order
to better one!s instruction.
Denitions
presentational communication: In the presentational mode of communication, one
person produces a message in oral or written form for an audience of listeners, viewers,
or readers. Communication is one-war; unlike the interpersonal communication, no
opportunity exists for the negotiation of meaning to occur between the presenter and
those who read, listen to, or view what is presented.
metalinguistic feedback: The teacher makes comments or asks questions about the
form of the student!s utterance without providing the correct form. These comments
indicate that there is an error somewhere: Can you nd your error? or It isn!t said
necessarily in that way. This feedback includes some grammatical metalanguage that
refers to the nature of the error: It!s masculine.
Robin Spurger 3
elicitation: The teacher repeats part of the student!s utterance and pauses to allow the
student to complete the utterance at the place where the error occurred: Student: I had
already went to the library. Teacher: I had already...
novice: The level at which students begin language learning by acquiring concrete
vocabulary in context through activities such as Total Physical Response (TPR) to
acquire and retain it well; using contextualized vocabulary in short conversations and
oral presentations; developing a personalized vocabulary.
process- The steps involved in producing a written text.
product- The written text created by the writer.
task environment- The rhetorical problem and the written text that is developing and
providing the direction for what comes next.
rhetorical problem- The writing situation, topic, audience, and writer!s goals.
exigency- The situation that sparks a need to write.
Review of Literature
Various studies have been done to prove the effectiveness of the use of journal
writing to help students construct personal meaning as well as increase their motivation
to write (Peyton, 1987, 1990; West & Donato, 1995). According to Hall and Robinson
(1994), interactive journal writing may further students! writing skills, help in the
transition from oral to written communication, and provide students with the chance to
be an author. Learning to write best occurs when children are given meaningful reason
to write and an actual audience to address (Jensen, 1993)
Interactive dialogue is a strategy which can be used effectively with learners of all
ages and at all levels of language acquisition. According to Curtain and Dahlberg
Robin Spurger 4
(2010), at more advanced stages, students students can use the journal to engage in
discussions of cultural issues or other content, as well as more personal feelings and
opinions. The importance of teacher response to the content of each journal entry,
rather than utilizing it as a grammar teaching opportunity, is stressed as well.
Presentational communication, oral and written, requires knowledge of how to
communicate with audiences and an ability to present cross-cultural information based
on the background of the audience.- (Glisan & Shrum, 2010) The mistake many foreign
language teachers make today is making themselves the audience of students! writing.
In this situation, students! goal becomes merely receiving a grade instead of growing as
effective communicators. Creating differentiated audiences for students will cause
students to consider the audience to whom they are writing as well as the background
from which that audience comes (Greenia, 1992).
Hypothesis
If the 9th grade Spanish I students create a journal consisting of ve entries, seven to
ten sentences each in the target language, then they will develop stronger written
presentational communication by being conscious of the audience to which they are
writing, using helpful materials successfully, forming complex ideas, and displaying
correct use of grammar.
Robin Spurger 5
II. Description of Method/Data Collection
Outcome Measures-
Students! written presentational communication will be measured by rubrics
created by the teacher/researcher and peer graded rubrics. Each journal prompt will call
for two drafts, a rough draft and a nal draft. There will be a total of ve journal entries.
The rst journal will be used as baseline data. Using the rst journal as baseline data
will ensure that the comparative data matches the same format, thus eliminating
possible internal threats to the research. Grades will be collected for each of the four
remaining journal entries. The scores on the journal entries will be averaged together
and a percentage will be taken and compared to the baseline data to determine if the
journal has increased students! presentational writing skills.
Method Design-
Journal prompts will be administered each week on Tuesday to be due on
Thursday for peer review. Each Thursday, students will be given time to read their
partners! rough draft and give it a grade. Each journal entry should have a total of two
drafts and two assessments. Requiring two drafts of the entries, with peer or teacher
feedback in between, allows students to experience the process of writing and the
opportunity to reect upon their work. In the beginning, the rst draft was assessed by
students! peers; however, the student intern researcher noticed that this aspect of the
process was not helpful because peers were not as effective in grading and providing
feedback as one would hope. This could be because the peers were novice level as
well and, therefore, had the same amount of experience as the person whom they were
grading. It could also be because the peers did not want to grade their partners too
Robin Spurger 6
harshly, causing unrest in friendships. The student intern addressed this issue with the
class but saw no improvement in the feedback given by the peers. For this reason, the
student intern and the classroom teacher decided to take over the initial feedback
process and began meeting with students in class in groups of two to discuss the rst
drafts of the journals. The student researcher intern will make the assessments of the
nal drafts of each journal. The rubric for these journals is included in the Appendix. The
classroom teacher will aid in helping to select what should be included in each journal
entry. The journal prompts will require students to use grammatical concepts and new
vocabulary which correspond with the chapter the students are studying at the time. The
prompts will also provoke students to think about the audience to which they are writing.
Before each journal prompt can be given to students, the material which will be included
must be decided upon. In order to decide which material will be included, the researcher
will collaborate with the classroom teacher because she knows and has a better
understanding of what students need to practice in their writing. The student intern
researcher chose the journal topics through her own knowledge of Latin-American and
Spanish culture, differentiating the audience each time, matching the material to the
chapter the students were studying, and the inclusion of certain grammar concepts and
vocabulary students were learning at the time. The investigation will begin halfway
through the semester. The investigation will last for six weeks. Beginning halfway
through the semester, students will already have a foundation with which to begin their
writing. If it was at the beginning of the semester, the requirements would be lower
because students would have absolutely no knowledge of Spanish. Therefore,
Robin Spurger 7
beginning later allows for the study to go deeper into the development of students!
presentational writing skills.
Data Collection-
The rst method for collecting the data for this action research will be the teacher-
graded rubrics from each journal entry. After the researcher grades the nal drafts of the
journals, she will put into a spreadsheet the scores of each student. This spreadsheet
can be found in Figure A below.
Name
Due Date
Weight
Pre-Journal
Assessment
Journal 1 Journal
2
Journal 3 Journal 4 Total Final
Grade
10/17/13 10/18/13 10/24/13 11/7/13 11/21/13
0% 25% 25% 25% 25% 100%
Arthur Albert
Juliana Nieva
Richard Rock
Jerry Rose
Jon Smith
Josephine
Trenton
Joshua
Planner
Lisa Smith
Melissa Hay
Rachel Lee
Bob Woods
Jennifer
Ranger
Star Malvon
Franklin
Williams
Lilly Johnson
84% 84% 92% 96% 96% 92% B+
72% 84% 96% 98% 100% 95% A-
85% 92% 96% 96% 98% 96% A-
68% 92% 92% 96% 98% 95% A-
75% 84% 94% 98% 96% 93% A-
76% 84% 94% 98% 96% 93% A-
76% 92% 88% 90% 96% 92% B+
80% 85% 92% 98% 94% 92% B+
80% 94% 94% 98% 96% 96% A-
78% 90% 96% 94% 94% 94% A-
65% 92% 94% 94% 96% 94% A-
90% 90% 92% 96% 94% 93% A-
76% 80% 92% 92% 94% 90% B+
89% 90% 98% 94% 96% 95% A-
88% 94% 92% 98% 96% 95% A-
Class Average 79% 88% 93% 96% 96% 93.7%
Figure A
Robin Spurger 8
The student intern used this explicit chart to show results because it allows others to
compare the data from many different aspects including, student to student, student to
class, beginning to end, and/or journal to journal.
Schedule-
The baseline data was taken on October 17, 2013. The schedule from that date is
shown below.
October 17: Pre-Journal Activity (Baseline data) & Strategy Introduced
October 18: Journal 1 First Draft due, Peer Editing, and Re-write of Journal 1
October 24: Journal 2 First Draft due & Peer Editing
October 25: Re-write of Journal 2 & Final Draft due
November 7: Journal 3 First Draft due & Conference with Student Intern Researcher/
Teacher
November 8: Re-write of Journal 3 & Final Draft due
November 21: Journal 4 First Draft due & Conference with Student Intern Researcher/
Teacher
November 22: Re-write of Journal 4 & Final Draft due
Data Analysis-
The data for this action research will be organized in a format which is easy to read and
encourages the reader to compare the data in a variety of ways. The student intern
researcher wishes to show improvement in the written presentational writing of each
student and the class as a whole. The chart will be arranged such that one can see the
scores of the Pre-Journal assessment followed by the four journals students completed
throughout the study.
Robin Spurger 9
III. Report of Findings & Reection Upon Results
Interpretation-
Students developed stronger written presentational communication by
being conscious of the audience to which they are writing, using helpful materials
successfully, forming complex ideas, and displaying correct use of grammar. The
student researcher saw a 21.5% increase in the scores of the journals of the
class as a whole from the Pre-Journal to the fourth, and nal, journal. Because
these journal entries were the only opportunity students had to practice
lengthened writing in the target language during the study, the student researcher
believes that these results are a direct correlation to the strategy that was
implemented. The data from this research reveals that students need more
practice with writing to differentiated audiences as process-oriented writing
practice. As a future educator, I plan use this type of strategy in my class
because I have seen its effectiveness in just a short amount of time and believe it
could cause greater success if studied and investigated further.
Report of Findings-
These results have been framed such that others in the foreign
language eld can clearly view them and analyze as they please. The
results have been placed in three different graphs. The rst graph displays
the information from each student!s overall score taken from each journal entry.
By looking at this graph, one can see how each student gained more skill over
time with their presentational writing through the change of the overall score. The
Robin Spurger 10
next two graphs display the information from each criteria on the rubric. The
student intern researcher took the class average in each section from the
Pre-Journal Activity and Journal IV and placed them into a Column chart and a
2-Axis chart. With the Column chart, one can view the change in the scores from
each criteria from the Pre-Journal Activity to Journal IV as they are compared
side by side. In the 2-Axis chart, the scores from Journal IV are presented in bar
graph form and the Pre-Journal scores are in the form of a line graph on top of
those bars. One can see the contrast in the scores between the two journals by
the difference in presentation. All foreign language educators need to know about
these results because they could be the foundation for more study on
novice-level improvement in presentational writing.
Practice Decisions-
These ndings are signicant to future practice for a few reasons. First, it
is vitally important that students have the opportunity to practice, not only
presentational writing, but writing in general in the target language. This study
has shown that by the vast improvement in each criteria of the rubric after only
four journal entries. Also, students need to have a goal and audience when
practicing presentational writing. Lastly, process-oriented writing is necessary to
improve students! skills in creating quality work that will prepare them for the real
world. In view of further research, it would be benecial to test the effect of this
type of writing practice on other areas of the foreign language classroom such as
oral ability, condence, and interpersonal communication.
Robin Spurger 11
Bibliography
Curtain, H., & Dahlberg, C. (2010) Languages and children-Making the match (4th ed.).
Boston Pearson, Allyn & Bacon.
Glisan, E., & Shrum, J. (2010) Teacher!s Handbook: contextualized language instruction
(4th ed.). Boston: Thomson Higher Education.
Greenia, G. (1992). Why Johnny can!t escribir: Composition and the foreign language
curriculum. ADFL Bulletin, 24, 30-37.
Hall, N., & Robinson, A. (Eds.). (1994). Keeping in touch Using interactive writing with
young children. ERIC Database: ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED
367-996.
Jensen, J. M., (1993). What do we know about the writing of elementary school
children? Language Arts, 70. 290-294.
Peyton, J.K., (1987). Dialogue journal writing with limited English procient students.
Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
Peyton, J.K., (1990). Students and teachers writing together: Perspectives on journal
writing. Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.
West, M.J., & Donato, R.D. (1995). Stories and stances: Cross-cultural encounters with
African folktales. Foreign Language Annals, 28, 392-406.
Robin Spurger 12
Appendix
A-1 Journal Rubric
A-2 Pre-Journal Activity
A-3 Journal 1 Prompt
A-4 Journal 2 Prompt
A-5 Journal 3 Prompt
A-6 Journal 4 Prompt
A-7 Examples of Student work
A-8 Graph 1
A-9 Column Chart
A-10 2-Axis Chart


Robin Spurger 13
10-9 8-7 6-5 4-0 Score:
Vocabulary Goes above
and beyond to
make journal
interesting by
including a
wide variety
descriptive
nouns and
adjectives.
Uses a
signicant
amount of
descriptive
nouns and
adjectives to
make journal
interesting.
Uses slightly
more than
the
necessary
amount of
descriptive
nouns and
adjectives.
Basic use of
vocabulary.
Only included a
few descriptive
nouns and
adjectives.
Sentence
Structure
Sentences are
complex, and
none are
lacking a
subject or
verb.
Most (60%)
sentences are
complex, and
none are
lacking a
subject or
verb.
Some (30%)
sentences
are
complex,
and none
are lacking a
subject or
verb.
No complex
sentences.
Less than 30%
contain a
subject and/or
verb.
Grammar All sentences
are without
error.
All sentences
are correct
with minor
errors and
only 1 major
error.
Most
sentences
are correct
with few
(2-3) major
errors.
More than 4
sentences
contain major
errors such as
noun-adjective
agreement.
Punctuation,
Spelling, and
Capitalization
0 errors in
punctuation,
spelling, or
capitalization.
1-2 errors in
punctuation,
spelling, or
capitalization.
3-4 errors in
punctuation,
spelling or
capitalizatio
n.
More than 4
errors in
punctuation,
spelling, or
capitalization.
Length 7 or more
sentences
5-6 sentences 3-4
sentences
less than 3
sentences
A-1
Spanish Journals
Seora Garrison!s Spanish I Class
Instructions: Each Thursday, you will be given a prompt for writing a journal in
Spanish. Using the rubric below, you will peer grade each others journals on Friday
and discuss the journals in groups. I will use the included check list to grade your
conversations as I walk around the room and listen. At the end of class on Friday,
the journals will be turned in to me for a final grade. You must have written a
journal before class to participate in the conversation on Friday. Journals will be
written on a loose leaf sheet of paper which will be kept in a folder to monitor your
progress throughout the semester.
Robin Spurger 14
A-2
Pre-Journal Writing Activity
Instrucciones: Congratulations! You have decided to practice your Spanish by writing
letters to a native spanish-speaker. You found a website that connects students in the
United States with students in Mexico for the purpose of practicing writing skills in
Spanish. It is finally time to send your first letter! On your own paper, write a letter in
Spanish to your new pen pal in Mexico describing yourself. Give your name and some
adjectives to describe yourself (at least 5). Ask what he or she is like. Tell him/her your
likes and dislikes including a total of at least five. You should have about 7-10 sentences
when you finish. Include a greeting and a salutation. See example below.
Modelo:
Hola !
My name is (your name). I am from the United States. . .etc.



(Saludos) (Un abrazo) (Que tengas un buen da!),
Your Name
Robin Spurger 15
A-3
Journal 1 Prompt
Welcome to Spain! You and your family just moved here because of your fathers new
job. You are now in an American school, but you want to get to know your neighbors
better. You met a girl/boy your age leaving your apartment building the other day when
heading to school, and he/she suggested you start practicing your Spanish there by
writing her/him a letter to tell him/her more about yourself. Give your name and some
adjectives to describe yourself (at least 5). Ask what he or she is like. Tell him/her your
likes and dislikes including a total of at least five. You should have about 7-10 sentences
when you finish. This letter will be similar to your pen pal letter to your friend in Mexico,
but try to vary your vocabulary. Include a greeting and a salutation. Use your book/
dictionary if necessary. Include as many adjectives and descriptive words as possible.
Refer to your journal instructions and rubric to assure that you are including enough
information. You may want to start by brainstorming and drafting. See the example in
English below.
Modelo:
Hello (his/her name)!
My name is . I am tall and have red hair. I am artistic and hardworking. I
do not like painting, but I do like to draw. What are you like? What do you like and
dislike? I like Mexican food, but I do not like Chinese food. Its awful. Do you like
Mexican or Chinese food? I am not fat because I like fruits and vegetables. Do you like
fruits and vegetables? They are delicious! I am also very intelligent. I like to read
adventure books and interesting news articles. Do you read a lot? I also like mystery
movies. Do you like mystery movies? What is your favorite movie?
(Saludos)(Besos)(Un abrazo)(Nos vemos pronto)(Chao),
Your Name
Robin Spurger 16
A-4
Journal 2 Prompt
You are studying abroad in Costa Rica for the summer. You are staying with a local
family, and your madre wants to know about your best friend back home.
Describe your best friend in Spanish. For the first draft, do not use your book or
notes. See what you can do without them! You will find out you know more than you
think. Write a second draft to bring to peer grading for Thursday using your
notes/book/dictionary etc. to add creativity to your description. You may write the
second draft on the same sheet of paper.
Include the following:
- his/her age
- where he/she is from
- adjectives (at least 5) to describe him or her
- these can be things he/she is or is not
- his/her likes
- his/her dislikes
- compare your likes and dislikes to his/her likes and dislikes
- tell what things you both like/dislike (hint: we like...)
- tell what things you like that he/she dislikes
- tell what things he/she likes that you dislike
Tips for writing:
-Think about your audience. Who are you speaking to?
-Organization: Start with an idea and expand upon it. Group things that go
together. (i.e. foods, hobbies, characteristics)
-Check your partners corrections when writing your final draft to turn in.
Robin Spurger 17
A-5
Journal 3 Prompt
Your parents just informed you that an exchange student from Colombia will be
coming to stay with your family for a few weeks. Your parents want you to write a
letter to this student to let him/her know what you like to do on the weekends. You
will need to think of some indoor activities as well as outdoor activities. Use
vocabulary from 3.1. Tell at least 4 things you (and your family) like to do one the
weekend. Remember to be creative and expand your vocabulary more than the
minimum in order to receive full credit! Do your best and have fun with it.
Frases tiles
- Cuando llueve... when it rains
- Cuando nieva... when it snows
- Cuando hace sol... when it is sunny
- Cuando hace (mucho) calor... when it is (very) sunny
- En los fines de semana... on weekends
- A mi familia y a m ____ gusta(n)... my family and I like
Maneras de terminar (ways to end)
- nos vemos pronto.... see you soon
- no puedo esperar a conocerte... I cannot wait to meet you
- un abrazo... a hug
- carios...word of affection (like saying love,)
- con cario... like saying with love
- cudate... take care
Robin Spurger 18
A-6
Journal 4 Prompt
It is your first day of college and you have your first assignment. Your professor
would like to know what you plan to do on weekends. Write a letter to your
professor telling him/her what you like to do on weekends. Be sure to say what you
like to do, what you want to do, and what you are going to do. Also, include weather
as you did for the last prompt. Use the vocabulary on page 111 in your book. Your
letter must contain 7-10 sentences.
Frases tiles
- Cuando llueve... when it rains
- Cuando nieva... when it snows
- Cuando hace sol... when it is sunny
- Cuando hace (mucho) calor... when it is (very) sunny
- En los fines de semana... on weekends
- A mi familia y a m ____ gusta(n)... my family and I like
Maneras de terminar (ways to end)
- nos vemos pronto.... see you soon
- no puedo esperar a conocerte... I cannot wait to meet you
- un abrazo... a hug
- carios...word of affection (like saying love,)
- con cario... like saying with love
- cudate... take care
Robin Spurger 19
A-8
Name
Due Date
Weight
Pre-Journal
Assessment
Journal 1 Journal
2
Journal 3 Journal 4 Total Final
Grade
10/17/13 10/18/13 10/24/13 11/7/13 11/21/13
0% 25% 25% 25% 25% 100%
Arthur Albert
Juliana Nieva
Richard Rock
Jerry Rose
Jon Smith
Josephine
Trenton
Joshua
Planner
Lisa Smith
Melissa Hay
Rachel Lee
Bob Woods
Jennifer
Ranger
Star Malvon
Franklin
Williams
Lilly Johnson
84% 84% 92% 96% 96% 92% B+
72% 84% 96% 98% 100% 95% A-
85% 92% 96% 96% 98% 96% A-
68% 92% 92% 96% 98% 95% A-
75% 84% 94% 98% 96% 93% A-
76% 84% 94% 98% 96% 93% A-
76% 92% 88% 90% 96% 92% B+
80% 85% 92% 98% 94% 92% B+
80% 94% 94% 98% 96% 96% A-
78% 90% 96% 94% 94% 94% A-
65% 92% 94% 94% 96% 94% A-
90% 90% 92% 96% 94% 93% A-
76% 80% 92% 92% 94% 90% B+
89% 90% 98% 94% 96% 95% A-
88% 94% 92% 98% 96% 95% A-
Class Average 79% 88% 93% 96% 96% 93.7%
Robin Spurger 20
A-9
Vocabulary Sentences Grammar Punctuation, Spelling,
and Grammar
Length
Pre-Journal
Journal
5.4 9.6 7.75 7.6 8.6
8.2 10 9.5 9.6 10
0
2.5
5.0
7.5
10.0
Vocabulary Grammar Length
Chart 3
Pre-Journal Journal 4
Robin Spurger 21
A-10
0
2.5
5.0
7.5
10.0
Vocabulary Grammar Length
0
2.5
5.0
7.5
10.0
Chart 3
Pre-Journal Journal 4
Robin Spurger 22