TheApplicationofScaffoldingInstructioninEnglishWritingTeachinginSeniorHighSchoolIntroductionResearchBackgroundEnglishplaysanessentialpartinourlearningprocessaswellasourdailylife,andwritingisavitalpartofthefourbasicskillsinEnglish.Therefore,itispressingforEnglishteacherstoimprovestudents’writingability.However,thoughEnglishwritingteachinghasmadesomeprogress,therearestillmanyproblems.InChina,manyseniorhighschoolstudentsalwayscomplainthattheyarefearfulofEnglishwritingandthattheyfinditdifficulttowriteEnglishcompositions.Whentheyfaceanunfamiliartopic,theconditionisevenworse.SomestudentsevenloseenthusiasminEnglishwritingwhichincreasesthegreatdifficultyofEnglishwritingteaching.ItishardformoststudentstoexpressthemselvesinEnglishthustheycannotwritehigh-qualitycompositions.Tobefrank,thereasonsmayvaryinvariousways.OneofitmaybetheimproperinstructionusedinEnglishwritingteaching.Inournation’slong-termEnglishteaching,teachersfocusmoreonteachinggrammarandsentencestructures,whileignoringthenecessityofhelpingstudentstothinklogically.Teachersseldomsetupscaffolds.Theyjustrequirestudentstofinishthewritingtasksandsimplygivescores.Thecollaborationbetweenstudentsandteachers,studentsandstudentsareignored.Therefore,someteachersapplyscaffoldinginstructioninEnglishwritingteachingandaimtoenhancestudents’writingabilityandimprovestudents’enthusiasmtowardsEnglishwriting.ResearchSignificanceandPurposeAsalanguage,Englishisusedtoconveypeople’scontentandtheirmind.WritingisAndEnglishnowisanimportanttoolforpeopletodoeffectivecommunication.TheabilitytocommunicationinEnglishisnotonlyexpressedinverbalexpression,butalsoinwrittenexpression.Moreover,writingcounts25pointsintheCollegeEntranceExamination.Therefore,writingplaysanessentialpartinEnglishtest.AccordingtotheNewCurriculumStandardforSeniorHighSchool(2017),thecurrentstudentsneedtounderstandhowtoexpressthemselvescorrectlythroughdifferentwayssuchaswritingunderspecificsocialcontexts.However,itisobviousthatmoststudentscannotachievetherequiredstandards.Therefore,itisnecessarytofindamoreexpeditiousmethodtoEnglishwritingteachinginseniorhighschooltoimprovethecurrentpredicament.Asateachingmethod,scaffoldinginstructionhascausedwideattentioninourcountry.However,itisnotverymature.Therearestillmanyteachersarenotclearwhatisscaffoldinginstruction,don’tknowhowtoapplytheteachingmethodintowritingteaching.ThispapertriestoillustratehowtoadoptscaffoldinginstructionintoEnglishwritingteachinginseniorhighschooltoprovewhetherthescaffoldinginstructionisbeneficialforstudents.ThisresearchattemptstoverifytheeffectofthescaffoldinginstructionadoptedinEnglishwritingteachinginseniorhighschoolthroughtheexperimentandquestionnaires.OrganizationoftheThesisThefirstchapterdescribesthebackground,thesignificanceandthepurposeandthestructureofthisthesis.Chaptertwoistheliteraturereview.Thischapterincludesthreeparts:theintroductionofscaffoldinginstruction,relativestudyabroad,relativestudyinChina.Chapterthreetalksabouttheresearchdesign.Itinvolvestheresearchquestions,researchsubjects,researchinstrumentsandproceduresoftheresearch.Inchapterfour,theresultsandtheanalysisofthedataarepresented.Byanalyzingtheresultsoftheresearch,thescaffoldinginstructioninEnglishwritingteachinginseniorhighschoolturnsouttobeeffective.Thelastchapterendsinaconclusion.Itmainlystatesthemajorfindings,theimplicationsoftheresearch,thelimitationsandthesuggestionsforthefuturestudy.2.LiteratureReview2.1IntroductionofScaffoldingInstructionScaffoldinginstructioniswidelyusedinEnglishteaching.Thisthesiswillelaboratetherelatedcontentofscaffoldinginstructionfromitsconnotationandtheoreticalfoundation.2.1.1ConnotationofScaffoldingInstructionScaffoldingisfirstreferredinbuildingindustry.Itisatemporaryframeworktohelppeopleormaterialsintheprocessofbuilding.Scaffoldingplaystheroleofhelpingworkerstoreachtheirworkareaswheretheycannotreachdirectly.Later,theterm“scaffolding”isadoptedinthepedagogicalfield.ScaffoldinginstructionoriginatedfromLevVygotsky,andespeciallyfromtheconceptoftheZoneofProximalDevelopment(ZPD).Whenscaffoldinginstructionisemployedinlanguageteaching,itisdefinedasatemporaryandadaptableframeworkthatenablesstudentsachievethedesiredgoalssuccessfullybyprovidingrelevantlearningmaterials,enhancingeffectiveinteractionbetweenteachersandstudents,andstrengtheningmutuallearningbetweenpeers.Inteachingprocess,thescaffoldingassistsstudentstoreachthegoalwhichtheycannotachievebythemselves.InVygotsky’sview,scaffoldinginstructionplaystherolesofteachersinsupportingstudents’developmentandprovidingsupportstructurestoreachthenextlevel.Thescaffoldingwillbewithdrawnwhenstudentsarecompetentformasteringindependently.2.1.2TheoreticalFoundationofScaffoldingInstructionVygotsky’sconceptof ZPDservesasthemostimportanttheoreticalfoundationforscaffoldinginstruction.SinceVygotsky’soriginalconception,thedefinitionfortheZoneofProximalDevelopmenthasbeenexpandedandmodified.Thezoneofproximaldevelopmentisanareaoflearningthatoccurswhenastudentisassistedbyateacherorothercapablestudents.Thepersoncannotcompletethedesiredskillwithouttheassistanceoftheteacherorotherpeers.Theteacherthenhelpsthestudentattaintheskilluntiltheteacherisnolongerneededforthattask.Inshort,theZoneofProximalDevelopment,oftenabbreviatedasZPD,isanareabetweenwhatalearnercandowithouthelp,andwhattheycan’tdo.Vygotskystatedthatastudentfollowsateacher’sexampleandgraduallydevelopstheabilitytodocertaintaskswithoutassistance.2.2RevelantStudiesonScaffoldingInstructionatHomeandAbroadManyscholarsandeducatorsconductedagreatnumberofexperimentsandresearchesonscaffoldinginstruction.Theyexpressedtheirunderstandingwhichhelpusknowmoreaboutitandtheystatedthescaffoldinginstructioniseffectiveinmanysettings,includinginthelanguageteaching.Inaddition,theyillustratedhowtoapplythismethodologyintopractice.2.2.1StudiesonScaffoldingInstructionAbroadInthe1960s,AmericaneducatorsWood,BrunerandRoss(1976)cameupwiththeterm“scaffolding”forthefirsttimeintheirarticleTheRoleofTutoringinProblemsSolving.TheyadvocatedthetheoryofscaffoldingistructionbasedonthetheoryofVogotsky.Thescaffoldinginstructionrefersthatlearnerscouldachievethedesignedgoalandenhancetheircompetencethroughinternalizingknowledgeundertheassistanceoftheirteachers.RichardsandRodgers(1986)claimthatthescaffoldinglinksthegapbetweenthelearner’sownabilitylevelandthedesiredabilitylevelwiththeassistanceofteachersormorecapablepeers.Raymond(2000)expressesthatthescaffoldinginstructionisaprocessinwhichteachersworkwithstudentsandofferssuitableassiatabcetolearnersinordertohelplearnersgettoahigherlevel.RachalandStuyf(2002)leadanexperimentinchildren’surgentwritingtaskamongfortykindergartenstudentswhichprovestheefficiencyofscaffoldinginstruction.Theresultshowsthatchildrencanworkoutproblemsindependently.Richards,J.C.andTheodoreS.Rodgers(2002)conductanexperimentwhichprovesthat“conceptualscaffolding”ishelpfulforenhancingstudents’languagecompetence.YangheeKimandJiyoungKim(2005)upholdscaffoldinginstructiontoEnglishwritingteachingofKoreanUniversity.Theyclaimthatthisapproachiseffectiveforteacherstocreateanpositiveatmosphere,andassiststudentstoacquirerevelentlearningskillsandknoeledgetocompletethelearningtask.2.2.2StudiesonScaffoldingInstructionatHomeChinesescholarsalsoconcernscaffoldinginstructionalotinrecentdecades.HeKekang(1997)givesasystematicintroductionofscaffoldinginstructionandsummarizesfivestepsofscaffoldinginstruction.ZhuLinlin(2004)makesbasicanalysisabouttheconnotationofscaffoldinginstruction.TheeducatorLiuYing(2005)putsforwardfiveconcretepedagogicalpatternsofscaffoldinginstructionandthreetypesofscaffoldswhichteachersfrequentlyprovideforstudents.YeWenhong(2010)mainlydiscusseshowtofindsuitablescaffoldingsinEnglishwritingteachingandhowtoapplyscaffoldinginstruction.QinGuiyiandWangXiong(2000)declarethatitisusefultoenhancestudents’abilityinbulidingcognitivestructureundertheguidanceofscaffoldinginstruction.WuJincheng(2003)interducesthefivestepsofscaffoldinginstructionindetail,andpromotespeopletounderstandthebasicstepsdeeperthroughphysicalexperiment.HuangLihua(2007)conductsanexperimentalresearchinEnglishwritingteachinginuniversity.Theresultshowsthatscaffoldinginstructioniseffectiveandstudentscouldcompletetheimpossibletaskswiththehelpofcapablepeers.DaiQin(2010)provesthatscaffoldinginstructionsuccessfullyarousesstudents’interestaswellasenhancestheirlisteningability.LiuJie(2015)provesthatthescaffoldinginstructionismoreeffectivethanthetraditionalapproachinthefieldofreadingteaching.OuJun(2017)applysscaffoldinginstructioninEnglishwritingteachinginseniorhighschooltoindicatethattheapproachcanhelpstudentsachievethedesiredteachinggoals.Bydescribingthefivestepsofbuildingthescaffoldingsdetailedly,LuoChunhua(2018)declaresthatscaffoldinginstructioncouldhelpstudentsbuildtheirwritingconfidenceandadvancetheirwritingability.3.ResearchDesignThispartwillelaboratehowscaffoldinginstructionisappliedtothewritingteachinginseniorhighschool.Thispartcontainsfouraspects:theresearchsubjects,researchinstrumentsandproceduresoftheexperiment.3.1.ResearchsubjectsTheresearchisconductedinShangraoCountyMiddleSchoolfromSeptember,2018toJanuary,2019,totally20weeks.ThetwoclassesareClassEightandClassSeventeen,bothfromSeniorGradeThree.Therearefortystudentsineachclassandstudentsaretaughtbythesameteacher.Accordingtotheprevioustests,theEnglishwritingabilityofwhichisapproximatelythesame.ClassEightischosenstochasticallyastheexperimentalclassinwhichthescaffoldinginstructionapproachwasappliedinEnglishwritingclass.Onthecontrary,ClassSeventeenisactedasthecontrolclass,whichisappliedtraditionalteachingmethod.Andtheexperimentresultisdescribedthroughtheanalysisofthescoresofthewritingpartinthefinalexam.3.2.ResearchInstrumentsTheinstrumentsofthisexperimentcontainspre-questionnaire,post-questionnaire,pre-testandthepost-test.3.2.1QuestionnairesThesubjectsarerequiredtocompletethepre-questionnaireandthepost-questionnaire.Inthepre-questionnaire,allthequestionsaremultiplechoiceitems,rangingfromcompleteagreetocompletelydisagree.Allthe80studentsacceptthesurveyand80copiesarecollected,eachofwhichcomeintoeffect.Thepurposeofthepre-questionnaireistogetsomeintegratedinformationaboutthepresentwritingteachingandlearningcircumstanceofstudents,andcanbedividedintofouraspects:thestudents’understandingofwritingandtheproblemstheyhave,students’attitudetowardswritingandattitudetowardsthetrainingapproachofwriting.Anothertotallydifferentpost-questionnaireiscarriedoutintheexperimentalclassaftertheexperimenttoinvestigatetheeffectofscaffoldinginstructionandgathersomeinformationofstudents’feelingsandattitudestowardsscaffoldinginstruction.Thepost-questionnairepaperconsistsof10multiplechoiceitemswiththreescales:mightlyagree,agreeanddisagree.3.2.2WritingtestsApre-testandapost-testareexecutedduringtheexperiment.Bothofthetwoselectedclassesarerequiredtoparticipatedinthetwotests.Thepre-testischosenbeforetheexperimenttocheckwhetherthestudentsinthetwoclassesareinthesamelevelofwritingcompetence.Thepost-testisadoptedafterthesurveytoverifywhetherthereisanychangeafterusingtwodifferentwritingteachingmethodsbetweenthetwoclasses.Besides,whetherscaffoldinginstructioncouldimprovestudents’writingability.3.3.ResearchProcedureAccordingtothescaffoldinginstructionapproach,teachersshouldprovidescaffoldingsforstudentsbasedontheirZPDduringthewholeEnglishwritingteachingprocess.Thescaffoldingsarerequiredtobeeffevtiveenoughinordertourgestudentstolearnandexploreindependently.Inthisthesis,theapplicationofscaffoldinginstructioncanbespecifiedintofivestages:settingupscaffolding,enteringthesituation,exploringindependently,collaborativelearningandevaluation.3.3.1.SettingUpScaffoldingToprovideappropriatescaffoldings,theteachershouldknowthestudents’currentlevelaroundtheirZPD.Oncethescaffoldingisbuiltup,anewtaskthatisbeyondstudents’presentabilitycanbecompletedwiththehelpoftheteacherandothercapablestudents.Theteachershouldpresentthewritingtopicandrelevantinformationtostudents.Inordertohelpstudentsbuildbackgroundknowledge,theteacherthensetsupscaffoldingsaccordingtothestudents’ZPD.Therefore,thewritingtaskisneithertoosimplenortoodifficult.Theformofscaffoldingscanbediverse.Forinstance,askingquestions,playingvideosormusic,presentingpictures,brainstorming,etc..3.3.2.EnteringtheSituationInthisstep,thestudentsaresupposedtothinkabouthowtoorganizetheircomposition.Moredetainedinformationshouldbeprovidedforthestudents.Theteacherandthestudentscandiscussthestructureofthecompositionandselectsuitablevocabulariesandphrases.Allgroupsaresupposedtothinkaboutsomeinformationandwritethemdown.3.3.3ExploringIndependentlyAftertheabovestepsthestudentshavethebasicideaofhowtowritethecompositionwiththehelpofscaffolding,sotheteachercanwithdrawnthescaffoldinggraduallyandthengivestudentssometimetowriteindependently.Astheyhavegatheredsomerevelantknowledgeforthewritingtaskandtheirinterestinwritinghasbeenstimulatedfromtheformertwosteps,theyarewillingtoconstructtheirowncomposition.Meanwhile,theycouldalsogetsometimelyhelpfromtheteacher.3.3.4.CollaborativeLearningInthisstep,thestudentscanexchangetheircompositionswiththeirgroupmembers,helpeachotherpointouttheirmistakesandsharetheiradvice.Ifthegroupmembersdonotknowwhetherothersexpressionisrightorwrong,theycandiscussaboutitorasktheteacherforhelp.Afterthediscussion,eachgroupshouldrecommendonecompositionwhichtheythinkisthebestoneintheirgroup,thentheteacherwillselectsomecompositionsasthemodelsiftherearenomistakesinthem,andshowthemontheblackboard.3.3.5EvaluationTheevaluationconsistsof3parts:self-evaluation,groupevaluationandtheteacher’sevaluation.Firstly,thestudentsaresupposedtomakeself-evaluationabouttheirowncompositionsaftercorrectedbygroupmembers.Self-evaluationgivesthestudentsagoodchancetosummarizethemistakestheymadesoastoavoidthesamemistakenexttime.Theyvanevaluatetheircompositionsfromgrammar,structureandthechooseofvocabulary,etc..Groupevaluationmeansthestudentsareevaluatedfromtheircontributiontotheirgroupandtheircompositions.Forinstance,whethertheypreparewords,ideasandtakepartintheactivitiesactively,whethertheywriteeffectivelyandcarefully,whethertheycorrectothers’mistakescarefullyandgivesomeusefulsuggestions.Thenitistheteacher’sevaluation.Theteachershouldmodifythegrammar,wordsexpression,logicalorganization.Andselectsthetypicalerrorsandexcellentcompositionswithterrficexpressions,viewpointsandstructurestoshowonthewholeclass.4.DataAnalysisandDiscussionThischaptermainlypresentstheresultsoftheresearchandallthedatacollectedfromtheexperimentwillbeanalyzedthroughMicrosoftExcel.4.1AnalysisoftheQuestionnairesThepre-questionnairewashandedoutbeforetheexperimenttotheexperimentalclassandthecontrolclasswiththeaimtogetsomeinformationaboutthestudents’interestandattitudestowardsEnglishwriting.Whereas,thepost-questionnairewasthefeedbackofscaffoldinginstruction,toverifywhethertheapplicationofthisteachingmethodcanimpressthestudents’learningattitudesandinteresttowardsEnglishwriting.Therefore,thepost-questionnairewasjustgivenouttothestudentsintheexperimentalclasstofindwhatchangestheyhavemade.4.1.1AnalysisofthePre-questionnaireThereweresixteenmultiplechoicequestionstotallyinthepre-questionnaire(Appendix1).ThereisrespectivelyA,B,C,D,Efollowingbyeachquestionforthestudentstochoose.“A”meansthesubjectstronglyagreewithwhatthequestiondescribes.“B”meansthesubjectusuallyagreewithwhatthequestiondescribes.“C”meansthesubjectsometimesagreewithornotsureaboutwhatthequestiondescribes.“D”meansthesubjectdisagreewithwhatthequestiondescribeswhile“E”showsthesubjectcompleteltydisagreewithwhatthequestiondescribes.Allthestudentsinthetwoclassesareaskedtotakepartinthepre-questionnairesueveyandanswerhonestly.Thereareeightystudentsparticipatinginthesurveyandtheresultisshownasfollows:Table4.1DataofPresentWritingLearningSituationofStudents(Q:Questions;EC:ExperimentalClass;CC:ControlClass)QNumberofstudentsinEC(40)whochooseNumberofstudentsinCC(40)whochooseABCDEABCDE1278230268240214995315877332774112882204216616208525513136711311763614994415107537121166513911338131011421399549651595761395105551873471791132515153351514122141617125171513357151034515131412422111252012153341911134211116486157377149Thenumberofthisdatacolleectionis80.Alllevelsofstudentstookpartinthequestionnairesurvey.Theauthorcollectedthestatisticsandcalculatedthepercentagebasedonthenumberofstudentswhochosethechoiceitem.Accordingtothestatisticsoftable4.1,wecanfindthatthereisalmostnosignificantdifferencebetweenthetwoclasses,fortheratioofthecontrolclasssandtheexperimentalclassisverysimilar.Then,theauthorwillanalyzethestatisticsfromthefollowingfouraspects.Table4.2AnalysisofUnderstandingofWritingofStudents(Items1-4)responseitemABCDETotal1frequency531647080percent66.3%20%5%8%0%100%2frequency29171612680percent36.3%21.2%20%15%7.5%100%3frequency551563180percent68.8%18.7%7.5%3.8%1.2%100%4frequency41141131180percent51.3%17.5%13.7%3.8%13.7%100%Fromtable4.2,itiscleartoseethat66.3%ofthestudentsthinkEnglishwritingisofgreatimportance.MostofthestudentsagreethatEnglishwritingisnotjustfortesting,butalsohasprodigiouspracticalsignificance.Then,fromthefourthitem,halfofthestudentsthinkthattheimprovementoftheirwritingabilityishelpfulfortheirEnglishcpmprehensivecompetence.However,68.8%ofthestudentsthinkthatEnglishwritingisthemostdifficultpartinanEnglishtestingpaper.MoststudentsstresstheimportanceofEnglishwriting,butwritingisatoughproblemforthem.Table4.3AnalysisofCurrentProblemsofEnglishwritingofStudents(Items5-8)responseitemABCDETotal5frequency26241313480percent32.5%30%16.25%16.25%5%100%6frequency2919169780percent36.25%23.75%20%11.25%8.75%100%7frequency2520179880percent31.25%25%21.25%11.25%10%100%8frequency2619209680percent32.5%23.75%25%11.25%7.5%100%Accordingtothestatisticsintable4.3,62.5%ofthestudentsregardgrammarasagreatchallengeduringtheirwritingprocess.Inaddition,60%ofthestudentscan’texpresstheirmindsappropriatelyinEnglishbecauseoftheirlackofvocabularyandpoorexpressioncpmpetence.Besides,fromtheseventhitem,wefindthathalfofthestudents(56.25%)havenoideaabouthowtoorganizeanexcellentcomposition.Thedeficiencyofbasicwritingskillsisalsoabigproblemwhichtroubles56.25%ofthestudentsalot.Therefore,itisnecessaryforteacherstothinkoutmorewaystodeveloptheirstudents’writingskillsandimprovetheirconfidenceonwriting.Table4.4AnalysisofAttitudestowardsWritingofStudents(Items9-12)responseitemABCDETotal9frequency131128181080percent16.25%13.75%35%22.5%12.5%100%10frequency8912351680percent10%11.25%15%43.75%20%100%11frequency657302980percent7.5%6.25%8.75%37.5%36.25%100%12frequency336333280percent3.75%3.75%7.5%41.25%40%100%Fromtable4.4,wecanseethat63.75%ofthestudentshavenointerestinEnglishwritingand73.25%ofthemarenotconfidentinwriting.Therefore,only30%studentsareactiveinwritingclassand7.5%ofthemwilldowritingpracticeinitiatively.Inaword,mostofthestudentsarenotconfidentandinterestedinEnglishwritingandtheylackenoughwritingpractice.Table4.5AnalysisofAttitudestowardsTrainingMethodofWritingofStudents(Items13-16)responseitemABCDETotal13frequency6912302380percent7.5%11.25%15%37.5%28.75%100%14frequency249422380percent2.5%5%11.25%52.5%28.75%100%15frequency468412280percent5%7.5%10%51.25%27.5%100%16frequency71513291680percent8.75%18.75%16.25%36.25%20%100%Accordingtotheabovedata,wecangetsomebasicinformationaboutthestudents’attitudestowardsthecurrentwritingtrainingmethod.Only18.75%ofthestudentsthinkthatthepresenttrainingmethodisbeneficialtoimprovetheirwriting.What’sworse,only7.5%ofthemwillchecktheircompositionsafteringdraftingandafterthecompositionsarecorrectedbytheteacher,only27.5%willtaketherevisionseriously.Besides,77.75%ofthestudentsshownointerestincooperatingwiththeirgroupmemberstocorrecttheircompositions.4.1.2AnalysisofPost-questionnaireThepost-questionnaireisonlygiventothestudentsintheexperimentalclass.Itisaboutthefeedbackofscaffoldinginstruction.Theaimistocheckwhethertheapplicationofscaffoldinginstructioncouldimprovestudents’writinginterestandtheirwritingcompetence.Thepost-questionnairecontainstenmultiplechoicequestions,andthereareonlythreedegreesaftereachquestion,thatis:stronglyagree,agreeanddisagree.Theresultsandtheanalysisofthepost-questionnairewillbepresentedasfollows.Table4.6Students’FeedbackofScaffoldingInstructionQuestionsA(stronglyagree)B(agree)C(disagree)Total117(42.5%)16(40%)7(17.5%)60(100%)216(40%)18(45%)6(15%)60(100%)39(22.5%)17(42.5%)14(35%)60(100%)418(45%)17(42.5%)5(12.5%)60(100%)512(30%)17(42.5%)11(27.5%)60(100%)613(32.5%)19(47.5%)8(20%)60(100%)720(50%)15(37.5%)5(12.5%)60(100%)815(37.5%)19(47.5%)6(15%)60(100%)921(52.5%)19(47.5%)0(0%)60(100%)1025(62.5%)12(30%)3(7.5%)60(100%)Fromtheabovestatistics,82.5%ofthestudentsthinkthatscaffoldinginstructioncanimprovetheirwritingcompetence.Fromthesecondandthethirditems,wecanseethatscaffoldinginstructioncanhelpstudentsfrommanyaspects.85%and65%ofthestudentsstatethattheymadeprogressinorganizingacompositionandcreatingbeautifulandcorrectsentences.Asforthedatafrom4-6,87.5%ofthestudentsexpressthattheyhavebecomemoreactiveinEnglishwritingclass.72.5%ofthestudentsacknowledgethattheirinterestinwritinghasbeenarousedthroughscaffoldinginstructionand80%ofthemhavealsobecomemoreinitiativeundertheguidanceofscaffoldinginstruction.Withregardtoquestion7and8,87.5%ofthestudentsshowstrongfavortowardsworkingingroupsand34studentsindicatethatgroupevaluationcanimprovetheirwritingcompetenceeffectively.Question9and10aremainlyaboutthestudents’attitudetowardsthenewteachingapproach.Allthestudentsagreethatscaffoldinginstructionismorepreponderantcomparewithtraditionalteachingapproach.And37ofthemhopetheirteachercouldusescaffoldinginstructioninthefuturewritingteaching.Theexperimentalresultsindicatethatscaffoldinginstructioncaneffectivelyhelpstudentsinenhancingtheirwritingenthusiasmandimprovingtheirwritingcompetence.4.1.3ComparativeAnalysisoftheDataofPre-andPost-questionnairesAfter5monthstraining,theauthorhandedoutthesamequestionnairetothestudentsintheexperimentalclasstoseewhethertheyhaveanychangebeforeandaftertheexperiment.Allthe40studentstookpartinthesurveyandtheresultsofthepost-questionnaireareshowedasfollows:Table4.7ComparativeAnalysisofUnderstandingofWritingofStudentsinEC(Items1-4)responsesitemABCDEprepostprepostprepostprepostprepost1frequency2728811213000percent67.5%70%20%27.5%5%2.5%7.5%0%0%0%2frequency1417915975130percent35%42.5%22.5%37.5%22.5%17.5%12.5%2.5%7.5%0%3frequency2713784101712percent67.5%32.5%17.5%20%10%25%2.5%17.5%2.5%5%4frequency212169681161percent52.5%52.5%15%22.5%15%20%2.5%2.5%15%2.5%Fromtheabovedata,wecanfindthatmostofthestudentsstillholdsuchanopinionthatwritingisquiteimportantandessential.Butthereisasharpchangeaccordingtoitem3whichindicatesthatsomestudentsdon’tthinkwritingisthemostdifficultpartasbeforeaftertrainingbyscaffoldinginstruction.Table4.8ComparativeAnalysisofProblemsofWriting(Items6-8)responsesitemABCDEprepostprepostprepostprepostprepost5frequency1381396117913percent32.5%20%32.5%22.5%15%27.5%17.5%22.5%2.5%7.5%6frequency1412989104743percent35%30%22.5%20%22.5%25%10%11.5%10%7.5%7frequency12111361461755percent30%2.5%27.5%7.5%15%35%15%42.5%12.5%12.5%8frequency13510511741528percent32.5%12.5%25%12.5%27.5%17.5%10%37.5%5%20%Asisshownintable4.8,wecanseethatthereisacertainbutunconspicuouschangeaboutgr