Developing students' super writing skills
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Authors
Yábar, Katia
Issue Date
2017
Educational Level
ISCED 3: Upper secondary education
Curriculum Area
Geographical Setting
Peru
Abstract
Context: In Arequipa, Peru, an English teacher observed that secondary students, aged 14 to 15, faced significant challenges with writing. Students often struggled with generating ideas, grammar, and vocabulary and displayed a lack of confidence and motivation toward writing tasks. The teacher sought to enhance students' engagement and proficiency in writing by addressing these areas.
Aims: The project aimed to understand students' attitudes towards writing, the specific difficulties they encountered, and the strategies they applied. Additionally, the teacher sought to improve her approach by implementing structured support to aid students in developing clear, structured paragraphs.
Methods: Data collection methods included a questionnaire on students' attitudes and challenges, a peer observation, and a video-recorded lesson to reflect on instructional methods. The teacher documented student behaviour in a reflective journal and encouraged feedback to identify students' preferences and difficulties with writing activities.
Findings: Analysis revealed that students participated actively in brainstorming and were receptive to writing templates and structured feedback. However, they struggled to remember vocabulary and grammar taught in class and frequently asked for clarification on task instructions. The peer observation highlighted that instructions were often unclear and that students avoided dictionaries. The teacher also observed that students had difficulty correcting their own work, relying heavily on the teacher's feedback instead. Following an action plan that included structured templates, bilingual resources, and error-correction codes, students became more confident and autonomous in writing. The teacher found that strategies like instruction-checking questions and modelling activities were effective in enhancing student comprehension and participation.
Implications: This experience suggests that incorporating visual aids and structured templates may benefit students facing similar challenges with writing skills, supporting a more independent and confident approach.
Aims: The project aimed to understand students' attitudes towards writing, the specific difficulties they encountered, and the strategies they applied. Additionally, the teacher sought to improve her approach by implementing structured support to aid students in developing clear, structured paragraphs.
Methods: Data collection methods included a questionnaire on students' attitudes and challenges, a peer observation, and a video-recorded lesson to reflect on instructional methods. The teacher documented student behaviour in a reflective journal and encouraged feedback to identify students' preferences and difficulties with writing activities.
Findings: Analysis revealed that students participated actively in brainstorming and were receptive to writing templates and structured feedback. However, they struggled to remember vocabulary and grammar taught in class and frequently asked for clarification on task instructions. The peer observation highlighted that instructions were often unclear and that students avoided dictionaries. The teacher also observed that students had difficulty correcting their own work, relying heavily on the teacher's feedback instead. Following an action plan that included structured templates, bilingual resources, and error-correction codes, students became more confident and autonomous in writing. The teacher found that strategies like instruction-checking questions and modelling activities were effective in enhancing student comprehension and participation.
Implications: This experience suggests that incorporating visual aids and structured templates may benefit students facing similar challenges with writing skills, supporting a more independent and confident approach.
Description
Keywords (free text)
secondary students , writing skills , self-correction , student engagement