FRAMEWORK OF SELF-ACCESS LANGUAGE LEARNING FOR SOME ASPECTS OF GRAMMAR IN NARRATIVE-DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

Abstract

This research developed a framework of self-access language learning for some aspects of grammar in narrative-descriptive writing for tertiary level students of Singapore Polytechnic who use the Language and Communication Department's Self-access Centre. Data were collected from Singapore Polytechnic lecturers and students using surveys and interviews. The framework includes learning packages, essential teaching points, steps and constraints in self-access learning to improve students' grammar and hence their writing performance in the narrative-descriptive genre- an important genre in the GCE 'O' level English Language Examination. It is hoped that this framework will be useful to students who have failed this examination and to other users of self-access learning centres and institutions involved with narrative-descriptive writing. The first research instrument, a survey on ten lecturers, showed that the most critical problem of these weak students of English is their lack of knowledge of grammatical rules and structures. This was deemed to be more serious than students' lack of care in editing, lack of techniques in writing and lack of planning and organisation. Through the second research instrument, a literature review of error analysis studies, verb forms/tenses and subject-verb agreement were found to be the most problematic followed by prepositions, articles and connectors. The third instrument, a self-diagnosing questionnaire, was distributed to fifty first-year engineering students with D7 to F9 grades in their GCE 'O' level English Language Examination who were familiar with self-access learning. Students provided information on their academic, physical and social-emotional needs, their level of motivation to work at the SA Centre, their ideas on learner-autonomy and their suggestions for the SA Centre. One major finding was that students clearly needed no persuasion to motivate them to use the SA Centre. From the survey of the ten lecturers and the literature review, a tentative framework and sample self-access materials were created. The sample materials were used in interviews with five students to provide more information on the quality of the framework and the sample materials. The sample materials were then rewritten. Together with the proposed framework, these rewritten materials were distributed, to four teacher-helpers/lecturers of the Self-access Centre who provided invaluable suggestions and comments. The tentative framework then underwent further revision to become the final framework in Chapter 5.