M A S A R Y K U N I V E R S I T Y FACULTY OF EDUCATION Department of English Language and Literature T e a c h i n g W r i t i n g a t P r i m a r y a n d L o w e r S e c o n d a r y S c h o o l s Bachelor Thesis Brno 2016 Supervisor: Mgr. Radek Vogel, Ph.D. Author: Adéla Vojtíková Declaration I declare that I worked on this final thesis on my own, using the information sources that are cited in this work. Prohlášení Prohlašuji, že jsem svoji bakalářskou práci zpracovala samostatně s využitím informačních zdrojů, které jsou v práci citovány. Adéla Vojtíková 2 I would like to thank to my supervisor Mgr. Radek Vogel, Ph.D. for his support, helpful approach and his guidance throughout my work on this thesis. Adéla Vojtíková ANNOTIATION This bachelor thesis focuses on the topic of teaching English at primary and lower secondary schools, more precisely it focuses on teaching writing in the English language. The theoretical part deals with teaching English as a foreign language, as well with teaching writing in this language. It shows possible obstacles that learners may encounter during their studies, and it also offers possible solutions to successfully overcome these barriers. The practical part is a project that was implemented with pupils studying at Czech and English primary and lower secondary schools. This project was realized in the school year 2014/2015. The thesis also shows creations of students participating in the project, and then it compares their creations. Key words: English language, writing, students of primary schools, teaching English, Englishspeaking students A N O T A C E Tato bakalářská práce se zaměřuje na výuku anglického jazyka u žáků prvního a druhého stupně základní školy, zejména pak na výuku psaní. Teoretická část se zabývá výukou angličtiny jako cizího jazyka, dále pak konkrétně výukou samotného psaní v tomto jazyce. Ukazuje na možné překážky, se kterými se studenti mohou při svém studiu potkat, a zároveň nabízí možná řešení k úspěšnému překonání těchto překážek. Praktická část je projektem, který byl realizován s žáky české a anglické základní školy. Tento proj ekt byl realizován ve školním roce 2014/2015. Práce také ukazuj e výtvory žáků, kteří se projektů zúčastnili, a nakonec jejich práce porovnává. Klíčová slova: anglický jazyk, psaní, žáci základních škol, výuka angličtiny, anglicky mluvící žáci 4 CONTENT 1. Introduction 7 Theoretical part 9 2. Young learners 9 2.1. How to define young learners 9 2.1.2. Differences between learners 9 2.2. The importance of students' motivation 11 3. English language 11 3.1. Reasons for learning English 12 4. Teaching English language 13 4.1. Approaches to teaching English language 13 4.2. Approaches to teaching writing 14 4.3. Teachers'role 14 5. Writing 15 5.1. Writing as a skill 15 5.2. Reasons for teaching writing 16 5.3. Different types of writing 17 5.4. Writing process 18 5.4.1. The process wheel 20 5.5. Writing issues 20 6. Teaching writing in English-speaking countries 21 Practical part 22 7. General conditions 22 7.1. School 22 5 7.1.1. Working with children with special learning difficulties 24 7.2. Teaching English language 24 7.2.1. Course-books 25 7.2.2. Materials used for teaching writing 26 7.3. Classes for a research 26 7.3.1. Teaching English in these classes 27 8. Research 28 8.1. General information 28 8.2. First part of the research - M y first book 28 8.2.1. Beginning of the project 29 8.2.2. Lesson plan 29 8.2.3. Results 30 8.3. Second part of the research - Picture description 31 8.3.1. Lessons plan 31 8.3.2. Results 32 8.3.3. Summary 34 8.4. Third part of the research - writing a letter 34 8.4.1. Beginning of the project 35 8.4.2. Lesson plan 35 8.4.3. Results 36 9. Conclusion 37 References: 39 Appendices: 40 6 1. Introduction This bachelor thesis is focused on teaching writing in English language at primary and lower secondary schools. It mainly deals with the question of the quality of teaching writing at primary schools not only in our country but also in English-speaking countries. I chose this topic because I am interested in teaching English and in finding a way how teaching the English language and also writing in this language could be improved. There are four basic skills that should be distinguished while learning languages. These are receptive skills like listening and reading, and writing and speaking that stand for productive skills. These skills do not occur in isolation. A l l of them are in use at the same time in the process of teaching. There are teachers who prefer teaching or practising only some of these skills, nevertheless, it is necessary to practise all of them periodically. Only in this case, the process of teaching is successful. Writing has been described by Hedge (2005) as "a neglected area of English language teaching for some years" (p. 8). However, not long ago writing activities have started to appear in course-books. In my opinion, teaching writing is not an area to which many teachers dedicate enough time in their lessons. I found out that it is not easy to teach writing because this activity is not only about the students' final text, but also about the long process and many strategies that might help pupils in creating a new written text. These strategies and many other hints for easier writing are nowadays described in various kinds of handbooks or resource books. Nowadays there are two different teaching principles and, according to them, there are two types of teachers. The first type suggests that beginner learners should not write in English in their first year at least because it is too hard for them. It is said that teachers should only make children feel familiar with the spoken form of the language. In practice children only listen to English words or records, try to repeat them and then they start to speak. It is an approach which is still not widely used but it works on the same basis as learning mother tongue. That means that children do not learn their mother tongue by writing or reading but after their birth, they firstly try to repeat what they hear and by using this method, they get to know the language. This fact is applied in the same way in learning foreign languages. Conversely, there is the second principle which may look more traditional. It corresponds with the fact that learners should develop their skills equally. According to this matter of fact, it is 7 not possible to neglect one language skill and emphasize another one. This theory denies the previous methods of teaching and suggests that teachers start writing with learners from the very beginning. The fact is that most teachers compromise between these two. They prepare an opening audio-oral course for young learners when they listen to records, songs and simple words and they try to speak with this help. After this process of learning English, the beginning of writing and reading comes. 8 Theoretical part 2. Young learners 2.1. H o w to define young learners It is not an easy task to define children as whole. Each child is individual and so has different abilities, qualities, priorities and also different style of work. In general students can be defined like people who attend school to learn and discover things that are completely new to them. When it comes to learning English, there might be tremendous differences among how good students children really are. It is also difficult to widely characterize a good student but as Harmer (2007) claims, "a good learner is a student who is creative, who makes intelligent guesses, who makes his own opportunities for practice, who makes errors work for him and not against him, and who uses contextual clues" (p. 81). Undoubtedly, there are many aspects that must be taken into account because as it was said already, each student is individual. 2.1.2. Differences between learners Focusing on progress, it is not always dependent on children's knowledge or intelligence. A child with a higher intelligence can develop slowly and, vice versa, a less intelligent child can make large progress within a short time. It depends on many other aspects that allow students work more effectively and be better in what they are working on, or conversely, these aspects can make their work more difficult. According to Harmer (2007, pp. 14-20) there are four major aspects that can affect student's ability to adopt the curriculum and work with it. a) Age b) Learning styles c) Levels d) Educational and cultural background a) Age is one of the greatest aspects that has the influence on students' learning. Children at the age of 5 to 11, generally described as young learners, tend to gain information not only 9 from what is being taught but also from whatever is going on around them. For these young students is hard to understand the grammar rules because of the abstraction of it. Because of these reasons, students are primarily taught basic things so that they can respond to teachers' questions in simple sentences or write down some basic characteristic and so on. On the contrary, another group of students from the ages of about 12 to 17, formally called adolescents, has developed a greater capacity for abstract thought so they can talk about more abstract ideas. Students are fully competent to understand the grammar rules and they are able to create sentences in the more advanced form. b) As it is well known, we all have a number of different intelligences (for example mathematical, emotional, spatial etc.), however, each person has developed different type of intelligence. That means that one person's interpersonal intelligence might be highly developed, their mathematical intelligence might be less advanced and this applies vice versa. For this reason, children cannot be judged as "unintelligent" or "intelligent" but it is a teacher's task to find an appropriate way for both of these types of students to unite them at a similar level. c) There are many distinctions to classify the language knowledge of learners. As Harmer claims, teachers usually divide their students into three basic categories - beginner, intermediate and advanced. The average level of English at primary and lower secondary schools in the Czech Republic is from beginner to intermediate but it depends on each pupil. The higher level is being achieved by students from high schools or even universities. In recent years there has been set a range of different levels of any language that people can achieve. This has been done by the Council of Europe and the Association of Language Testers of Europe. The scale starts at A l which is the equivalent to the elementary level and ends at C2 which stands for the very advanced level. For each of these levels people have to pass the exam where they are supposed to demonstrate their language skills. The exam is composed of the speaking, listening, reading and writing testing. After showing the required knowledge, participants of the exam receive a certificate of their particular level. 10 d) Another thing that teachers have to be aware of is that pupils can come from different types of families which can seriously affect their attitude to learning. It is necessary to treat students who came from families or communities where education is highly valued and where they had parental help available differently from students who came from less supportive backgrounds. What is even more frequent is that there are pupils who came from abroad and their level of English is much higher than the level of pupils in the class. These students usually have different expectations of what teaching and learning involves and it is teacher's task to be prepared for these situations. 2.2. The importance of students' motivation One of the most complicated tasks for teachers is to motivate students so that they were really interested in what they are learning. It is quite easier with young children because they are curious about almost everything, including learning. As children get older, they usually start to have a practical reason for their study: they learn languages so they can watch movies in original versions, they learn how to cook so they can prepare better meals (Harmer, 2007, p. 20). According to Harmer (2007), there are two types of motivation. Firstly, there is extrinsic motivation which is the type of motivation which students bring into the classroom from outside. Students who are extrinsically motivated are usually influenced by some external factor such as the attitude of society or their family. Another type of motivation is internal motivation "which is the kind of motivation that is generated by what happens inside the classroom; this could be the teacher's methods, the activities that students take part in, or their perception of their success or failure" (p.20). It is not that difficult for students to be extrinsically motivated but the problem is with sustaining the motivation so it is up to the teacher to keep students constantly motivated. 3. English language English language is without any doubt one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. It is estimated that around 1.6 billion people in the world speak English. Being the most frequent chosen language to be taught as a second language, English gained the status of the global 11 lingua franca . Harmer suggests that the actual role of English as a lingua franca can be compared to Latin in the Middle Ages, as a language of international communication (Harmer, 2001). The massive spread of English has its roots firstly in the colonial expansion of Britain, which laid the foundation to adoption of English as a future lingua franca. Secondly the rise of US in the 20th century proved that English is not only a language of technology and science but also leads consumer culture. 3.1. Reasons for learning English As it was said already, students from all over the world have different reasons for learning English. The necessity to study English language may be part of their curriculum or it can be based on their own willingness and choice (Harmer, 2007). According to Harmer, when a minority studies English language in the area where English is the dominant language, English language is therefore taught as a Second Language (ESL). The second case can happen when students are learning English in their homeland, where their native language is the dominant one, English is taught as a Foreign Language (EFL) (Harmer, 2001). It is also possible to study English only for specific purposes (ESP), e.g. one of the most popular varieties is Business English or English for Academic Purposes (EAP) (Harmer, 2007). A very important role of English is in the case of traveling because "much travel and tourism is carried on, around the world, in English" (Harmer, 2001, p. 15). According to Harmer (2001), even though there are many places where other languages easily accessible for people, it is still English as the main language of almost every place. For example, every announcement or sign at the airport is written in English besides the language of the locals. What Harmer (2001) also claims is that, "so far, English is also the preferred language of air traffic control in many countries and is used widely in sea travel communication" (p. 15). Lingua franca - language used as a means of communication between populations speaking vernaculars that are not mutually intelligible, "lingua franca." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015. Web. 10 May. 2015 12 4. Teaching English language According to Harmer (2001), there are many points of views of what teachers can mean to students or what they feel to be at least. Many metaphors are used for describing teachers' positions, for example that "teachers say that they are like actors because they feel as if they are always on stage. Others talk of themselves as orchestral conductors because they direct conversation and set the pace and tone. Yet others feel like gardeners because they plant the seeds and then watch them grow" (Harmer, 2001, p. 107). 4.1. Approaches to teaching English language Many methods are being used when teaching English and it differs from teacher to teacher. There are teachers who emphasize only grammar and work with a book and are not interested in any other activities like speaking, listening or reading. Another type of teachers are those who almost do not use the book at all and instead of that rather talk to students for the whole hour and believe that students get all of the information from using English and correcting their own mistakes by speaking. At the best case, both of these methods should be used because a good teacher should want from his students the best they can do in all of the disciplines, e.g. grammar rules, speaking, reading, listening and writing, but firstly they have to know how to teach all of these important English subjects of course. The following table shows how much time is being related to each part of teaching English language. The proportion of time focused on language and teaching language skills • vocabulary B grammar Li pronunciation J language skills Table 1. The proportion of time focused on language and teaching language skills, Source: 13 4.2. Approaches to teaching writing Although there is a high increase in written communication thanks to a higher use of mobile phones and computers, people forget that this type of communication still has its own rules (Scrivener, 2005). As the world is still improving and going forward, people tend to communicate only through the new technologies and almost forget to solve problems face to face. This also leads to the fact that children don't comply with spelling rules or even with writing rules. It is up to teachers to help students get to know how the written text is supposed to look like and what type of forms of writing even exist. As Hedge (1998) mentions, it is useful to build up a list of the things that writers need. It includes: • getting the grammar right • having a range of vocabulary • punctuating meaningfully • using the conventions of layout correctly • spelling accurately • using a range of sentence structures • linking ideas and information across sentences to develop a topic • developing and organizing the content clearly and convincingly (Hedge, 1998, p. 8) What also Hedge (1998) claims is that it is possible to build up something like a checklist of different styles, forms and functions of the written text so that they know the difference features and organization of different written products. 4.3. Teachers' role Because of the fact that not only writing in English but English as a foreign language is not easy to learn for younger students, teachers should help them to make things more accessible. Therefore, teachers have different roles in the process of learning English. According to Harmer (2001, p. 108), there are many roles that teacher have to keep up with during their career. At first, teachers should meet the role of the controller. Harmer claims that "when teachers act as controllers, they are in charge of the class and of the activity taking place and are often 14 'leading from the front'. Controllers take the register, tell students things, organize drills, read aloud and in various other ways exemplify the qualities of a teacher-fronted classroom" (p. 108). Also there are teachers who can inspire and fascinate pupils with their knowledge and the ability to show it in a right way and also with their charisma. Another role that teachers are supposed to hold is the role of the prompter. It is quite often that students don't know what to say or what is the correct answer for the question that has been asked. In this case teachers should help their students find a way out of this situation. There are many possibilities how they can do that but one of the most experienced mode how to do it is that teachers adopt some kind of a 'prompting' role. When this situation happens, teachers should offer students words or phrases, encourage other students to help their friend in need or they should suggest what could come in a next paragraph a student is writing and so on. It is not an easy task because as Harmer claims "When we prompt, we need to do it sensitively and encouragingly but, above all, with discretion. If we are too adamant, we risk taking initiative away from student. If, on the other hand, we are too retiring, we may not supply the right amount of encouragement" (Harmer, 2001, p. 109). Another example of different teacher's roles is the role of the participant. It is understandable that teachers sometimes don't want to be just teachers but that they also want to be a part of the class. This is "the traditional picture of teachers during student discussions, role-plays or group decision-making activities" (p. 109). It is a benefit not only for a teacher but also for students who may take the teacher as a friend in a way of some discussion and that could mean abandoning inhibitions in speaking. On the other hand, there is a danger of the fact that pupils forget the authority of the teacher and that they will act with almost no respect and will have a difficulty to pay attention when the role-play ends. 5. Writing 5.1. Writing as a skill Writing is one of the main four language processes that students can learn at school when it comes to a foreign language. 15 The language processes have been divided by linguists into first-order and second-order processes. First order processes (speaking and listening) are learnt without formal and systematic instruction; on the other hand, second-order processes (reading and writing) are at first learnt with the aid of formal and systematic instruction (Emig, 1977, p. 122). Traditionally, skills can be classified into two main categories - productive and receptive skills. Listening and reading represent receptive skills and writing together with speaking belong to productive skills (Scrivener, 2005, p. 29). Writing and speaking belong to productive skills because when pupils use these skills, the language must be produced. According to Byrne (1988), writing is something that people do when they use graphic symbols, which means letters or combinations of letters which relate to the sounds people make when they speak and all of this in written style. When people write they try to produce not just one sentence or even a number of unrelated sentences but they try to produce "a sequence of sentences arranged in a particular order and linked together in certain ways" (p. 1). This relates to the fact that they try to compose a text. As Byrne (1988) claims, composing a text is neither an easy nor a spontaneous activity. Sometimes it is easier because there is the right 'mood' for writing or the feeling of need to write something but there are unwritten rules that apply every time when something is being written. These rules are that when students write, they reread what we have written so far as a stimulus to further writing. Another common practises are making notes, drafting and revising. They can also write several versions until we are satisfied because of the fact that they are writing for a reader who is not physically present or may not even be known to them. For this reason, they have to ensure that what we write can be understood without any further help from us (Byrne, 1988, pp. 1- 2). 5.2. Reasons for teaching writing According to Harmer (2004), however all human beings grow up speaking their first language and so, for a child, spoken language is acquired naturally as a result of being exposed to it, the ability to write has to be consciously learned (p. 3). Byrne (1988) claims that it is possible to learn to speak a foreign language without learning how to write in it, writing is the skill in which students are not only least proficient but also the one for which they have the least use thanks to new technologies that allow them not to use the needed form of writing. And because writing is a 16 skill which is both limited in value and difficult to acquire, students must be very clear about the purpose in learning it (Byrne, 1988, p. 6). Byrne offers a variety of pedagogical purposes of writing: • Some learners who don't learn easily through oral practice alone find helpful to be allowed to read and write in the language because for such students writing is likely to be an aid to retention, if only because they feel more ease and relaxed. • Written work is one of the best examples where students can see their progress in the language. • Writing provides variety in classroom activities, serving as a break from oral work and at the same time it increases the amount of language contact through work that can be set out of class. • Writing is often needed for formal and informal testing. (Byrne, 1988, pp. 6-7) 5.3. Different types of writing Books on education and teacher's books give numerous classifications of writing tasks. Scrivener (2005, p. 193) divides the writing activities into five groups according to restriction, help and control that is offered to pupils: a) Copying b) Doing exercises c) Guided writing d) Process writing e) Unguided writing Although copying and doing exercises are inseparable parts of lessons, they teach primarily grammar and vocabulary. Vice versa, the other three groups help pupils develop the skill of writing. In comparison with Ur's opinion, however she uses another terminology, the division is on the same basis - the purpose of writing. Writing as a means is the term of hers for using language to write down vocabulary, transcribe grammar rules, write answers to reading or listening comprehension questions and do written tests. Secondly, writing as an end practises the written form at the level of sentences, its aim is the content and organization. A third kind of activity writing as both means and end - combines the original writing with the practise of another skill such as reading or vocabulary practice (Ur, 1996, p. 162). 17 The third classification that should be noted is one by Harmer. He states a distinction between writing-for-learning and writing-for-writing. The first type of writing helps pupils practise the language they study. Three examples of it can be given (Harmer, 2004). a) Reinforcement writing - is used as a way of reinforcing language that has been taught. Students are asked to write sentences using the given grammar but they also have to write some short story or paragraphs. The aim is to make the students think about the new grammar or vocabulary and learn it at the same time. b) Preparation writing - is used as preparation for another activity. Usually, students write sentences as a preamble to discussion activities. The preparation gives pupils time to think about their ideas or opinions about the issue that is going to be discussed. c) Activity writing - is an integral part of a larger activity where the focus is on another skill like speaking or acting out. For example, pupils are asked to prepare short dialogues which they have to act out they first write them down. In a similar way, designing a questionnaire could be an example of activity writing. (Harmer, 2004, pp. 32-33) Harmer again points out that these activities do not teach pupils to write. On the other hand, writing-for-writing develops the pupils' skill as true writers. The teacher involves them in the whole process of writing before the final version is completed. It is also about using appropriate language, text construction, layout and style (Harmer, 2007). Writing-for-writing includes the creative writing where the students' imagination is required. Writing poetry, stories and plays can be considered as a difficult activity and without the teacher's phased leading it can be demotivating because the pupils get the feeling of "nothing to say" (Harmer, 2001, p. 260). Moreover, effective writing requires purpose - like writing real messages for real audiences or the writing that pupils can use in their out-of-class life. 5.4. Writing process According to Harmer (2001), it is important that teachers are decided if they want their pupils focus on the product of writing or on the writing process itself. When teachers are concentrated only on the product, they are only interested in the aim of a task and in the end product. However, many teachers realize that a process approach to writing is necessarily important. As 18 Harmer clams, "by spending time with learners on pre-writing phases, editing, re-drafting and finally producing a finished version of their work, a process approach aims to get to the heart of the various skills that most writers employ - and which are, therefore, worth replicating when writing in a foreign language" (Harmer, 2001, p. 326). That means that it is maybe more important to edit and redraft when students are writing in a foreign language than when they are writing in their mother-tongue. A process approach also asks students to think over the whole procedure of writing. It would be helpful for students if teachers discussed the concept of first and final drafts with their students and try to make them think of a better concept for their writing. It is necessary to show students the right way of planning things for writing, that means, teach them how to create something like a content of what they are planning to write. In this concept, they may think of many interesting ideas, decide what kind of information is relevant for their work and so on. After considering all aspects of the text that is going to be written, the first writing is coming up. When the first version is seemed to be done, Harmer suggests many ideas of what could be done to make students' work better. Some of his ideas are following: • check language (grammar, vocabulary, linkers) • check punctuation (and layout) • check spelling • check the writing for unnecessary repetition of words and/or information... (Harmer, 2001, p. 326) 19 5.4.1. The process wheel When it comes to creating the final version of writing, there are many phases that students must have gone through. Harmer proposes 'The process wheel', which is a great illustration of how the process of writing works. There is a stage of planning, which is very necessary for making a good suggestion of pupil's work. It may illustrate the final version of student's work but usually, the first plans will change. Secondly, there is a stage of drafting and editing that may or may not mean a way to the final version. Lastly, there is the phase of the final version that still could be redrafted or edited but once, it really ends with the real final version. Fig.l The process wheel, Source: Harmer, How to Teach Writing 5.5. Writing issues According to Byrne (1988), there are three categories that make writing difficult for students either in the mother tongue or in a foreign language. Firstly, there are psychological problems. Byrne attributes those problems to the fact that when people speak, it is natural because it is the most used medium of communication in their lives. There is someone physically present so that they can get feedback of some kind, they both can use gestures and their body language to make the communication easier. However, when people write, they are required to write on their own without any possible interaction or feedback which is something that can make people feel uncomfortable. Secondly, there are linguistic problems that Byrne mentions. This problem can also be illustrated on speaking and writing because when people speak, they usually speak spontaneously PLANNING DRAFTING (X)FINAL VERSION? EDITING FINAL VERSION 2 0 and have almost no time to pay attention to the organization of their sentence structure, grammar and so on. Everything can be repeated, expanded, explained or anything so people don't have to concentrate on their speech that much. However, writing is a totally different thing. When people write they really have to think of everything what is going to be written. They have to think over the structure of the whole text, considerate the appropriate style of writing, use the correct syntax and principally, they have to write the text so it is understandable and interpreted as it was supposed to be by its author. Lastly, there are cognitive problems that affect the simplicity of writing. People spend much of their time speaking so they don't even have to concentrate that much on their talk about because it is natural and people generally talk because they want to. On the other hand, writing is a skill that requires certain learning process. It is not as natural as speaking for people so they all have to learn how to express their opinions and thoughts by writing. Also the structures used in writing are not that common than those that are usually used in speech so it is more difficult for people to express themselves. 6. Teaching writing in English-speaking countries In English-speaking countries, not only the educational system is different, but also teachers' attitude differs from the Czech one. Teachers act friendlier to their pupils and also the approach of teaching is more individual. Pupils also learn different subjects but what differs the most is valuing their work. Students in English-speaking countries write tests that are similar to the Czech ones but a big part of their final grade is generated by homework assignments. Students studying in English-speaking countries have to write many different types of writing, but they mostly write essays. That is also the reason why English students are used to writing so they do not have a problem with that even when they get older and need good writing skills in their professional job. In Britain, there are special classes that are dedicated to their homework assignments which means that students learn from their own mistakes. By this way, their writing skills are developing more and more. 21 Practical part In the practical part of this thesis I will focus on teaching English, specifically on teaching writing, in classes from third to ninth grade. In this part I will introduce a school in the Czech Republic where I teach, another school in the United Kingdom from which I have experience with teaching as well. This includes a research. The research was done with students from both of these schools to show the differences between the Czech and English style of teaching which more or less develops pupils' writing skills. This difference will be showed in the project that was done with these pupils. Another part of the practical part is describing a picture by students of different age. This project should illustrate how pupils' skills are being developed during their English studying. The expected results are that results of children with special learning difficulties will be much worse than results of children without any learning difficulty. This fact should be showed in pupils' creations. The last part of the practical part is creating ' M y first book'. The youngest learners of the English language were given a task to create their book where they use vocabulary they already know. Thanks to this project it will be showed how pupils are taught basic English vocabulary and how they are able to use their creativity. I also expect some differences among the results of learners who will write more words than others. 7. General conditions 7.1. School In the practical part of this thesis, I would like to compare, describe and evaluate pupils' writing skills that have been observed in this project. The research was done mainly at an elementary school in Brno, Czech Republic and partly at the Language Teaching Center in Eastbourne, United Kingdom. Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, right after the capital city of this country, Prague. It covers the area of about 230 square kilometers in the southeast part of the Czech Republic called Moravia and the population of this city is around 380 thousand people. The elementary school Horní 16 is one of one hundred and twelve elementary schools in 22 Brno with approximately 350 pupils and 28 teachers. The school is attended not only by children from the center of Brno but also by children from other parts of Brno. Some students come from different schools, where they attended lower grades and then they come to this school. Because of this fact it sometimes may cause troubles when children change school because they are at a different level of knowledge not only because of the fact that every teacher has different requirements but also because children were used to a different system of learning. Therefore, it is important to give children time to get used to a different environment if it is necessary for them. This most significant differences are seen in teaching a foreign language because teaching techniques can vary a teacher from teacher and also school from school. This school is very well equipped so it provides many opportunities for modern ways of teaching. There are thirty-two classrooms and twenty of them are equipped with data projectors and visualizers, the other twelve classrooms are specialized in some way for physics, science, language, art and music, one classroom with an interactive whiteboard, two computer classrooms and so on. Pupils can also get to know how to cook in the training kitchen where there are cooking classes provided. Students like using the gym and they can also find it joyful when they take the swimming classes in the local swimming pool which benefits the school offers. This school has a good reputation in Brno. Students prove their knowledge in different types of competitions where they usually get high places. Every year they excel in sports, especially in athletics and ball games which they can practice in the schoolyard. The Language Teaching Center was established in 1994 in Eastbourne and is around three kilometers away from the city center. The school is attended by 300-360 international and local students and offers great equipment. There are twenty-five classrooms, a study center, a computer center and a large cafeteria where students can go for their breakfast, lunch or dinner. The interesting fact is that the school offers residential accommodation for young learners right above the school which they can use as their transitional home. The school area also contains a ten-hectare private park including tennis, football and basketball court where pupils can practice their skills in these sports or just spend their leisure time. The L T C is usually attended by international students from all around the world, however, there are also local students who attend this center. This project was done with local students whose mother tongue is English so the results of my research are relevant. 23 7.1.1. Working with children with special learning difficulties At the elementary school Horni 16 there are thirty-five integrated children. Since this September, they are being educated together with other pupils without any special learning difficulties, yet, they are supposed to be treated with respect to their needs. These children are given an opportunity to work with a pedagogue who is specialized in working with children with special learning difficulties. These children are given a special lesson once a week together where they work on problems they have and they try to improve their skills according to the special pedagogue's help with the view of making the process of learning easier for them. 7.2. Teaching English language Teaching English language is a difficult discipline not only for students but for teachers as well. According to the national curriculum, compulsory education of English as a foreign language starts in the third form in this state. In the schedule of our students, there are four 45-minutes classes every week. At the beginning of pupils' studies, the whole class studies together but after first two years, they are divided into groups according to their knowledge so one group is a little faster in learning than the other one. Each of them has usually from five to ten members so that pupils can be treated individually. At our school, there are five English teachers. Three of them teach pupils only at the lower grades, then after finishing the fifth grade, the teachers change and usually teach the same students until they finish the ninth grade. Some teachers are able to teach students at the lower and the higher level of the elementary school, which means that they guide children from the age of eight to the age of fifteen. The positive fact is that teachers meet with their students very often so they get to know their students very well, they also discuss current problems together, share their feelings of teaching methods and cooperate on their further development. For preparing young pupils for the compulsory English, there are also optional clubs for first and second grades that are being offered by school. These clubs can prepare young students for next years of English in the form of one lesson per week in groups of five to ten children. The aim of this course is to make children feel familiar about English and prepare them for further education. In these courses, they learn basic vocabulary, play games and learn things in an entertaining way. 24 When students are at the end of their sixth grade, they are given an opportunity to choose their second foreign language. At our school, pupils can decide between German and Russian language. Classes of these languages are similar to English classes. Children are divided into groups of five to ten and they learn the language from the very beginning. It is a subject which could be described as the compulsorily optional subject. Another compulsory class which pupils have to attend is English conversation. This subject becomes obligatory in the seventh grade of students' studies. In classes of this subject, the teacher focuses mainly on children's speaking skills. According to the fact that this class is being taught by an English native speaker, students have the greatest opportunity to communicate with someone who is not affected by Czech teaching rules and at the same time with someone for whom is communicating in English natural. Pupils sing songs with their teacher, play entertaining English games and try to get familiar with this language. In conclusion, English that is being taught at our school is at a very high level. Student are active not only in English classes but in all classes. The teachers try to make the lessons in as entertaining way as possible but they are still aware of the seriousness of the curriculum that must be followed so students are well prepared for further English education. 7.2.1. Course-books The books that have been chosen by our school for teaching the Oxford University Press publications. Today's offer of books is really wide, however, both teachers and students are satisfied with using these books. At the beginning of pupils' studies, they start working with Project 1 that was made by Tom Hutchinson who is an English teacher and author of many English books who cooperates with the Oxford University Press. This book is suitable for English beginners because the book contains many pictures so pupils can learn basic vocabulary as colors, family members, animals and so on. It also contains many songs which allows to make learning more entertaining for pupils because they do like participating in these activities in which all students can practice basic English together. In the next years, students continue using the Project books which offers further English education. In spite of the fact that these books are created for one school year, our school has decided not to cover the all topics in one school year time so it is scheduled that students use one 25 book for one and half year. Also it depends on students because sometimes it lasts longer to go through all of these stages, yet, we try to make it in time. During their studying students use Project 1, Project 2, Project 3, Project 4 and Project 5 for the last one and half year of their education. These books offer a great range of articles, comics and stories from which students can learn grammar and vocabulary step by step. Each book has it's own workbook besides the main course book which allows students to practice at home. 7.2.2. Materials used for teaching writing When it comes to teaching writing, it is necessary to be aware of students' level of English. At the beginning of their study of English, they start working with Project 1 as was mentioned already. This book does not include any writing exercises because pupils are supposed to get familiar with English through speaking and listening exercises. Then the writing learning starts with basic picture drawing and then with their describing. Firstly, students try to describe pictures by using simple sentences and then they try to develop their simple sentences into longer ones. In the next years, students are given homework assignments in the form of writing exercises. I try to use my own materials or ideas so children can mainly focus on writing and not thinking about the structure that has been taught in regular English classes. After writing their assignment, I correct their work and students are given a mark which is a part of their finish mark of the subject. 7.3. Classes for the research According to the fact that my practical part is composed of three different parts, the research involved not only one class but I worked with all classes from the third to the ninth grade. More precisely, I worked with classes 3.A, 4.B, 5A , 6.B, 7.B, 8.A, 9.B, which means that I worked with children at the age of nine or ten to the age of fifteen or sixteen. I also worked with children from the Language Teaching Center in England. This part of the research was done with students whose mother tongue is English and they were at the same age as students in the Czech Republic who attend the ninth grade at their school. However, the biggest part of the research was done with classes 3 A and 9.B which means with pupils at the very beginning of their study and on the contrary with students who were at the end of their studies at our school. There is a tremendous difference between these two classes, not only because of their age but also because of their 26 knowledge of the language. None of these classes is the class where I would be their class teacher but I have to say that it was easy to find a way to these pupils. 7.3.1. Teaching English in these classes The class 3.A is attended by twenty-two children. These pupils just started with compulsory English this year and by now they have been learning their second language for few months. Despite the fact that they just started their studying of the English language, it is incredible to see the desire that these pupils have to learn new things. Although they learn just basic English vocabulary so far, they are still active at the English classes, and they try to participate in every activity that is being done in the class. There are three integrated children work with whom is a little harder. Of course there are some obvious differences among stronger and weaker students when it comes to English, yet, they all can learn English very well. In the second class I worked with, 9.B, there are only nineteen students at the age of fifteen to sixteen. Apparently, there is a mixture of more and less talented children but there is also a great amount of children who are somewhere in the middle between these two groups. There are also two integrated children with special learning disabilities. Working with these two boys is not that easy and it is necessary to say that in spite of all my efforts to treat students without any differences, they need more personalized approach than other pupils. Also it is obvious that these children do not show such efforts to learn because after nine years of studying they probably feel exhausted but from my point of view, English is one of their favorite subjects. However, our pursuit is to make learning fun and interesting for all students. The class from the Language Teaching Center did not have any designation like the Czech classes but they attended their last year of the elementary school which means that they were at the age of fifteen to sixteen. The education in England is different from the education in the Czech Republic, which was said already, still, children in the United Kingdom study similar subjects like Chemistry, Maths, Civics and so on. Students are interested in what is being taught at school and they try to be as active as possible which is similar to some classes here. Generally, English that is being taught at the elementary school Horní 16 is provided at a high level and from my point of view, children enjoy learning from teachers at the school. 27 8. Research 8.1. General information The first part of the research was done with the class 3.A during their first semester of their first year of studying English as a foreign language in the year of 2016. The research involved several English classes and was focused on pupils' elementary skills that they learned during two months of their education. It is supposed to show that teachers try to make learning English interesting and entertaining. During this class, pupils were able to use their creativity together with learning new English vocabulary. The second part of the research was done with almost all classes from the fourth grade to the ninth grade. More precisely, classes that were a part of this project were classes 4.B, 5.A, 6.B, 7.B, 8.A and 9.B. All students of these classes were asked to describe a picture and then I compared final works of the students of these classes. The aim of this project is to show how the writing skills in English are developed during the years when students attend the school. The last part of the research was done last year with classes 9.B at school Horni and students studying in the United Kingdom at the Language Teaching Center. Students from the United Kingdom who took a part in the project were only English-speaking children at the same age level as students in the Czech Republic so the results were relevant. The aim of this part of the project is to show the abilities of Czech students to write an informal letter and the abilities to do the same by the native speakers. This part of the project is not only about using the English language but also about the knowledge of the rules that are being applied when writing a letter. 8.2. First part of the research - M y first book The project " M y first book" was realized with the youngest pupils at school Horni who attend English classes. 3.A is the class of twenty-two students whose compulsory English classes started this September. In this class, there are three integrated children with special learning disabilities. This class is exceptionally teachable and creative, therefore I decided to devise this type of project. There are only two English classes a week because of the fact that English is the first foreign language that is being taught to these children. In these classes, pupils use the course 28 book Project 1, from which they learn simple vocabulary like colors, numbers, family members, animals or school supplies. 8.2.1. Beginning of the project At the beginning of the project, children were acquainted with many requirements. At first, they were given a paper with the list of general concepts (see Appendix A) that they were supposed to use during their work. According to this worksheet, pupils were supposed to think over what words they are going to use and how many of them they are able to manage to include. Secondly, they were asked to write individually and without any materials which made their work harder. They were not restricted by any time limit, so they could work on their book as long as they had the creativity. 8.2.2. Lesson plan In the first class, children were acquainted with the plan for the following classes. They got to know the idea of making the project called "My first book" and their first responses to the idea of making this task were hilarious. In the first minute they got to know the plan, they started talking to each other and planning what they are going to draw. After that, they listened to the rules which were set for this project. Then they were given the worksheet with the names of the individual pages of their book, which was supposed to help them what kind of areas they should think about. The first class was spent talking about the project and the ideas that children had. The second class was the real beginning of the project. Pupils had homework to think about what their first book is going to look like and what experience they can use. They were also asked to bring the crayons that they wanted to use during making the project. A l l of them had the worksheet they had gotten the previous class so they could start working. Two children were ill in the time of making the project, so the real number of pupils participating was twenty. Despite the fact that some pupils were faster than others, they all had done at least three pages of the book in the first class. They spent the first class mainly drawing the pictures of the vocabulary they wanted to use. They had a lot of fun making their books so I took some photos of them while they were working (see Appendix C). The third class was the last class making this part of the project. Although students were not limited, they were so efficient that they made the project during three classes. Everyone had 2 9 done all pages where they were supposed to draw and write the vocabulary they wanted to use, therefore, last ten minutes of the class were spent putting their books together so they were real books. In the first page of their book there was written the name of each pupil and they could decorate and beautify the first page as they wanted (see Appendix B). In the fourth class, children helped me to decorate the class with their projects. Later we talked about how they felt when making the project M y first book. 8.2.3. Results The results of children from this class were literally striking. Pupils showed their creativity and their skills in their books. Some works were better and some of them were worse but all in all, all students did a good job. Due to the fact that the compulsory English classes started only two months ago, children know only basic English vocabulary. In the graph below, there can be seen the average number of vocabulary that pupils wrote on each topic. < —1 CO s O > THE AVERAGE NUMBERS OF VOCABULARY I The average number of vocabulary IC O L O R S N U M B E R S M Y P E N C I L C A S E T O P I C S C L A S S R O O M IF A M I L Y The average numbers of written vocabulary are proportional. It is connected with the difficulty of the drawn pictures which means that in some cases, children were more interested in drawing the picture and they were less attentive to the quantity of written words. Drawing colors was quite easy, hence the number of written words and drawn pictures was high. A l l students 30 attained twelve words in the topic of numbers because these are all numbers that children know so far. Other pictures were more difficult to draw so pupils spent much more time with the last three topics. When it comes to the topic of family, many of them tried to introduce their own family instead of writing and drawing as many words and pictures as they know, that is why the average number of written words is so low. To sum up, there was demonstrated the knowledge of basic vocabulary after two months of compulsory English classes and from my point of view, children did very well. They really enjoyed making the project ' M y first book' and they showed their boundless creativity. 8.3. Second part of the research - Picture description The second part of the research was done with almost all classes from each grade where English is the compulsory subject except the third grade because their English skills are at the basic level so far which is deficient for describing a picture. Each class had the same task - to describe the same picture. All students were participating in this part of the project, however, only the best picture descriptions are used in this thesis. The aim of this part of the research is to show how the writing skills are being developed during the students' studies at the elementary school. To make the results relevant, I chose the best students with the best results in the English classes which I think is the most effective way how to do it. Even though the level of English of each pupil is different, level of English in one grade does not differ that much. Students are at similar levels in each grade not only because of the curriculum but also because of teachers who try to maintain the level of English of each class at as high level as possible, which means that requirements do not change that much. 8.3.1. Lessons plan Because of the fact that this project was realized in many different classes, I decided that the most effective way how to do this project is to set the same conditions and same lesson plans for each class. The uniform plan for all classes was following: Time: 30 minutes Materials: picture for description given by the teacher (see Appendix D) 31 pens, papers for the picture description, supplies used by students (dictionaries not allowed) Organization: children work individually, without any help This organization of the class was successfully used in all classes where the picture description was realized. The picture description is a task where students can use grammar they know, different types of vocabulary, creativity and also their imagination when they suppose what can be happening behind the picture. All children described the picture during the one class, more precisely during the 30 minutes. After that, I corrected and evaluated all of the picture descriptions and then I told each student a short comment of what were the biggest student's problems when describing the picture, if the objectionable area was grammar, lack of vocabulary or any other problems the student had. 8.3.2. Results Evaluation of this task was not easy. There are obvious differences among the results of children from each class, on the other hand, overall results were not that surprising. It can be said that most students have dealt with the task successfully. As for the overall results, the average number of sentences that students used for describing the picture did not differ that much, however, the structure and correctness of the sentences was different. In the following graph, there can be seen the average number of sentences in each class used for the picture description. 32 PICTURE DESCRIPTION - AVERAGE NUMBERS OF WRITTEN SENTENCES The average number of the written sentences in the class 4.B was seventeen. This number is quite high despite the fact that their compulsory English learning lasts only for two years. Students used mainly short sentences for describing what they can see in the picture. They also use the form 'has got' for describing which is good because it eliminates the possibility of making more mistakes, but it is obvious that these pupils do not know that the continuous present should be used for describing a picture. Also, there were some grammar mistakes but still, their works were really good. I chose the best picture descriptions of this class (see Appendix E) to show pupils' work. In the class 5.A, the results were a little different. It is interesting that the average number of sentences that pupils wrote is lower than the number of the class of students who are one year younger. At this level of English that is being taught at our school, students start writing in sentences that are longer or even composed of many other sentences. This means that even though children wrote fewer sentences, their length and correctness was different. As it can be seen in pupils' works (see Appendix F). children are aware of the right tense that is supposed to be used when describing a picture and also, they try to start the description with a typical sentence 'In the picture...'. In the works of pupils from 6.B, there was a clear progress not only in the area of grammar, but also in the area of the creativity. Pupils started to use the form of describing 'there is, there are' which could not have been seen in the works of students who are one year younger (see Appendix 33 G). In this class, there was one specific work of one student who used the most sentences of all pupils but she did not respect the rules that must be followed when describing a picture. All pupils used the behind the picture technique, yet, this student totally failed to comply with conditions that students were asked to comply. The biggest difference among the results of two classes was between the sixth and the seventh grade. It can be seen in the graph that pupils were able to produce the biggest number of sentences, but this is not the only distinction. It is clear that students went much deeper in the picture description. They also used the describing of what can be seen behind the picture but principally, they used more advanced and developed sentences. There can be seen many adjectives which helped pupils to describe the picture more specifically and at the advances level. In these creations (see Appendix H) there can be seen the students' awareness of the right grammar that is supposed to be used when describing a picture. In classes 8.A and 9.B, the works are comparable. In these years, pupils' writing skills are more developed and their English is more advanced which allows them to use different sentence structures and a wider range of vocabulary, (see Appendix I) 8.3.3. Summary To sum up this part of the research, students did a really good job. There are many clear differences that can be seen between particular classes, which is a great response to us as teachers. Pupils should use their creativity less because in many cases children did not use the wide range of possibilities of what could have been described and they started creating their own ideas. What was typical of all works of all students was the fact that they always named the two people in the picture which is a good idea of what can be included in picture descriptions, however, it is definitely not a thing that students should start with. 8.4. Third part of the research - writing a letter The third part of the research was done partly in the Czech Republic and partly in the United Kingdom. It was done last year when the students of the ninth grade were asked to write a letter to their friend about the previous summer. The ninth grade was chosen because the oldest students at the school are supposed to have the greatest knowledge of English so they can be compared with English-speaking students of the same grade. However, the aim of this project is not to compare 34 the use of English like grammar or vocabulary, but to show the knowledge or ignorance of the rules when writing a letter. The second aim of this project is to show that English-speaking students find it easier to follow the rules of the letter structure and they find writing more familiar. 8.4.1. Beginning of the project Because of the fact that this project could be divided into two particular parts and one of them was realized abroad, there was a plan to do this project in accordance with the course book used in English classes at the elementary school in the Czech Republic. The same requirements and conditions were applied on students from the Czech Republic and those from the United Kingdom. A l l students of this class from the elementary and lower secondary school Horní 16 had gone through the English classes where they were taught how to write not only a formal or informal letter, but they were also taught how to write a comment, note, email or even the cover letter. Pupils studying in the United Kingdom were also taught writing rules but as it was mentioned in the theoretical part of this thesis, the education there is focused differently. 8.4.2. Lesson plan The most effective way how to create the same conditions for all students is to set the lesson plan that is equal for both classes participating in this project. Because of the fact that the project was firstly done with the children from the elementary school Horní 16, the plan had to be set even before my visit of the United Kingdom. A l l students had the same time conditions in the form of forty minutes so the teacher had at least five minutes to describe the task that students were asked to accomplish. The plan of the whole class when students were supposed to write the letter was as follows: Time: 5 minutes for introducing the task 40 minutes for writing the letter Materials: the task assignment pens, papers for the picture description, supplies used by students (dictionaries not allowed) Organization: children work individually, without any help 35 In the United Kingdom, I got the same chance of working with children for the limit of 45 minutes so the plan did not have to be changed. 8.4.3. Results There were fifty-one students participating in this project. The results were not surprising because as it was mentioned in the theoretical part of this thesis, students from the English-speaking countries are more accustomed to writing, therefore, their results were much better than the results of the Czech students. Despite the fact that Czech students had been taught the exact structure of formal, informal and semiformal letter, most students forgot many things that are important when writing a letter. The structure of the letter that was expected from students was following: a) Address b) Date c) Opening d) Text of the letter e) Closing f) Signature As it is showed in Czech students' works (see Appendix J), pupils did not respect these rules. Mostly, they forgot almost all of these criteria and as opening they started introducing themselves which was not supposed to be a part of the letter because the task was to write an informal letter to their friend. Many students forgot to do any closing and they did not even sign themselves. On the contrary, works of students from the United Kingdom (see Appendix K) were totally different. All pupils mentioned almost all of these points and complied with the requirements of the content of the letter. The biggest problem for these students was to remember to write the date. Due to all of these results, my assumptions that the works of students from the United Kingdom were much better than the works of the Czech students. It is obvious that it is necessary that teachers at Czech schools devote more time to teaching writing. 36 9. Conclusion In this thesis I wanted to exemplify some key features for teaching writing to teachers of English but also to English learners. Theoretical backdrop and practical works of individual students were showed to illustrate that writing can develop not only language knowledge but also pupils' creativity. In my regular classes with pupils whom I teach, there are big differences between each pupil's knowledge but also between each pupil's approach to learning. Some of them are really interested in studying English, hence their attitude is much better, but since there are learners who are not that captivated by English classes, I wanted to make the lessons attractive so even these students find it funny and useful. Because of the fact, I decided to do this research to find out whether writing of interested and uninterested students can or cannot produce a visible difference. As it can be seen in the results of individual children, they are at a different level of the language knowledge but also they are at a different level of writing skills. Results of one single class do not differ that much, however, there are also some stronger and weaker students. To my surprise, the weakest students were not the integrated pupils as I had supposed. These students do their best to equalize their results with the results of other students which makes their attitude different in comparison with other students who do not strive to reach the best results that much. The results also show that the development of writing in English cannot be managed in a short time but that it is necessary to work on writing and developing students' skills systematically and that it takes a longer time to make pupils feel familiar with English. It is preferable to start working on students' writing skills in the early stages of their development of English knowledge because thanks to that, after a few years they feel much more comfortable not only in writing itself but also in general using English. This whole work demonstrates that pupils should be more prepared for writing in regular lessons. It was showed that it is not only about English language skills, yet, it is also about the knowledge of the rules that are necessary for some types of writing. This rule does not apply only for the English language of course. It applies for all languages because it is necessary to know at least some basic knowledge to be able to write in the language. The teaching writing in English should be improved at the Czech schools and as the specimen of a good approach how to teach writing could be used the approach of teachers in English-speaking countries. 37 This bachelor thesis can serve as a summary of theoretical information about young learners and the aspects of working with them. It can be used by teachers who are interested in this type of information and also by teachers who would like to use this thesis as an example of some writing exercises which can be found in the practical part of this thesis. 38 References: Byrne, Don. Teaching Writing Skills. Harlow: Longman Group U K Limited, 1988. "English language." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015. Web. 10 May. 2015 Graddol, David. The Future of English? London: The British Council, 2000. Harmer, Jeremy. How to Teach Writing. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 2004. Harmer, Jeremy. How to Teach English. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 2007. Harmer, Jeremy. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Harlow: Longman. 2001. Hedge, Tricia. Writing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2005. Scrivener, James. Learning Teaching. Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2005. Ur, Penny. A Course in Language Teaching. Practice and theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1996. Raimes, A . Techniques in Teaching Writing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1983. Appendices: Appendix A - General concept for M y first book Appendix B - Titles of students' books Appendix C - Photos of children during the work (C.l - beginning, C.2 - end) Appendix D - Picture for description Appendix E - Pupils' picture descriptions - 4.B (E.l. - beginning, E.2 - end) Appendix F - Pupils' picture descriptions - 5.A (F. 1 - beginning, F.2 - end) Appendix G - Pupils' picture descriptions - 6.B (G. 1 - beginning, G.2 - end) Appendix H - Pupils' picture descriptions - 7.B (H. 1 - beginning, H.2 - end) Appendix I - Pupils' picture descriptions - 8.A, 9.B (1.1 - beginning, 1.4 - end) Appendix J - Letters of students from the Czech Republic (J.l - beginning, J.2 - end) Appendix K - Letters of students from the United Kingdom (K.l - beginning, K.2 - end) Appendix A - General concept for M y first book M Y F I R S T B O O K l . 1st PAGE - TITLE, YOUR NAME, ANY DECORATION 2. 2nd PAGE - COLOR 3. 3rd PAGE - NUMBERS 4. 4th PAGE - M Y PENCIL CASE 5. 5th PAGE - M Y CLASSROOM 6. 6th PAGE - FAMILY 41 Appendix B - Titles of students' books 42 Appendix C . l - Photos of children during the work 43 Appendix C.2 - Photos of children during the work 44 Appendix D - Picture for description Appendix E . l - Pupils' picture descriptions - 4 j s _ p ]uJ • /ZatMd. M t m ^ . j l ^ ^ ^ y ^ a t ^ . CUtU*/ Appendix F . l - Pupils' picture descriptions - 5.A Appendix F.2 - Pupils' picture descriptions - 5.A je/Zom a*J fei fioßii anijl íieir stoe^ (j ynt-^/e efaJj'^L tier PM<* is Y&HJ ťec/ s|řtfť^ ľ^/fc <*KJ r e j tools «»ei s!ioe> «* 'cLÁ bl/^e- <*»Ji |gi4*nol<. r^c-lceis.. ficir Vr-dt* l\ ujlou/ flu J [lis VrcVtA- '"> oUríí- M1 ** and ^ei/nw. Ii -lb eve, $Uio>ll besi fv,'eh J- , Appendix G . l - Pupils' picture descriptions - 6.B T&AA p^sil- /(iistr C/tddAJ^l^. $U&U (K&d~- CAAXUS. bfsxJA ymri-iW^ y^usydis2AASV4-P~^JL< ^ojlisui-, 'dAu io^ert Jyl&vL JjA^^ AjJst*. A<4 AM- o^rA^- ^>*A->r>~- - rfJUJA .-"^ C?^A?~o ,£n^JdLKy..^(i J$A^ - X 5 > ^ r t ^ " J b w j V T ^ A ^ A ^ x aA*- A«JiJL &-^A- ^JAC**^. Ak. 'xi Jf&^- ^ yLorwr^/i WAS^'A$&£^A^AAJL - ^c^^tAa ex^.yinx^ ^ v c ^ .A/^Ln..^ A-o<-^£L.. XAJLW'XK, ^AL AuA~?-^ <>T^ AISAAL A-r^r^A: r>A-AAm,, 'IAJLAK, ^fuuu^di ^gmAA .y^At^y AalAA Jjtsrw**} AnAA AOL^ eu yvi^tM, CKA. AAA J,/ spA&^C Al-AA.>L AAP^AO A/siAA/ A/ s. ^IAJC^A^ &7i* A^Au^A-e^yi &~t^ AA^A^^O, Ce.sLtA OUKO-^ 'A- jpA^r $/UJb$U AA*V?\JA) .-J,. B-oii ^ f ^ * ^ • Jj"^**- /»*> /tik* fulfil. T-jJU^if diriÁh. AttS. W UfJtp. (Md^l feui OiJ y / W - z x n i i ^ $MJL cm^ nxl Í>/*«Í _ 1 /w^i f*4*nA ^ ' ^ / r r " |frv»«| Ae- Y /twMi«i v*žn ilty / 53 Appendix 1.1 - Pupils' picture descriptions - 8.A, 9.B They & re p/cnyi^ si- -6^. b\e t^^mh. eye* o\ b^t^'&'^o'l yowy ^'x-tc-f. ti<\ e^\c/ btu (Phoktr^C Socksjrt_ \tj*}-£e, &i-Lf\ * {5 ^/ngJ^?«o/^W- Q^S_£^£i are. y(ut 6-i^c( yiKolh, r. Appendix 1.4 - Pupils' picture descriptions - 8.A, 9.B fey"**** l^uwft, 1-A T™H (x^eL "few© cKiitkvevN iW) |§fe4 *F *} «M-»4 O^I Ww. W(M4 i n AWt oVi^-pe^^A co - "tV\«, oyvVs p^^ple U*VJV c^v^-K AVw 'toy's W*. "VU. WULi 57 t i l / W 1 Appendix J. 1 - Letters of students from the Czech Republic Ic^ W«- 4^ 'fell ^oy abou-f' ^if X -fell We u-i'-ZA ^>r«. W/& vue-i-i-f oa\-•« ^MMi '<*AVf\ 0*C IMbtJ^ u.1 (\n. aJvo fry-etf dud foelL, $d Amm^o jk JUJ 4*AS cvad UAML, /yi'u^ /k fii yo^ao^ rf~ 7)&d/ booth A^i) Appendix K.2 - Letters of students from the United Kingdom W "Paul , J y«A jeey, I