Due to the fast development of the society, the increasing living standard and the unceasing demand for broader international cooperation, the communication among different nations is necessary day after day. Communicative competence has become the major goal of the curricula innovation which has been a burning issue in education in recent years.
For a long time, the teaching and learning of English in Vietnam has rotated around teaching grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation with little concern about communicative competence. Such emphasis on linguistic materials has been the reason for many communication breakdowns between Vietnamese and foreigners, especially English-used communication. Consequently, the new English textbook series were compiled following the communicative approach which focuses on four skills: reading, speaking, listening and writing. Among these four skills, writing seems to be the most challenging skill to both teachers and learners. Students often find it difficult to start to write, which means that they lack of necessary ideas for their writing. Therefore, a study on idea- generating activities in teaching writing to high school students is conducted.