Appendix B: The methods of problem analysis

The analytic method:

　Some of my students always make the same mistakes again and again.

　The phrase some made me think of the other side of the other side of the issue: some of my other students do not make the same mistakes again and again. This made me think of these:

　1. Why some don't,. While others do?
　2. Who are the some that don't and who are the others that do?

　Moreover, "My Students" is in contrast with "my colleagues' students",. This prompted me to make a chain of reflections.

　What about some of my colleagues' students? Is it also the case that they make the same mistakes, either? If, one the other hand, all of my colleagues' students don't make the same mistakes again and again, then my problem is actually caused by myself, not by my students. Perhaps my explanation is not clearly or my examples are not very typical or my lesson plan is poorly designed.

　Through the above analysis I realized that my problem is probably caused by my error-correction technique.

Cause analysis

　The teacher's side--that is myself.
　Is it because the teaching step is poorly designed?
　Is it because my explanations are not clear?
　Maybe the teacher is not enthusiastic myself.
　Is it because the examples are not efficient?
　The teacher's voice is not loud enough for the students at the back to hear.
The students' side
　At first, the student do not know the importance of the usage of the phrases. And they pay little attention to it.
　When their exercise-book is given back, they tend to pay much more attention to the marks they've got than the errors corrected.
　The teacher as their helper?
　Some absent-minded students?
　Is it because they are not motivated?
　Is it because they pay little attention to their mistakes?

The class size
　My class has 52 students. The class size of over 50 students may have some negative effect. The classroom is too noisy.

　Of all the causes, I believe that the teacher is mainly responsible for the failure. I want to know what my students think about the problem.

Brainstorming

　I discuss the problem with my students and with my colleagues.

Interview

　I interviewed several students and find out my weak points: my error-correction technique is ineffective. My voice is too low. I just tell the right form. I give few analysis and seldom emphasize the common mistakes. And I don't like write the words on the blackboard, either.

　The results of the interview and brainstorming.

　The students need preparation work before writing in order to minimize errors. They tend to treat writing as a test rather than a learning process, therefore they don't discuss it with their peers or the teacher when having problems. They do not usually study the corrections as expected, instead they pay more attention to the marks they get. They all hope that there will be some changes in the ways errors are corrected.