INVESTIGATING THE PRACTICE OF TEACHING WRITING SKILLS: THE CASE AT TWO SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN WEST HARARGHE ZONE, OROMIA

Abstract

This study aims at investigating the practice of teaching writing skills: the case of grade 12 at Shenen Dugo and Hirna Secondary schools. The study was conducted to examine the practice of teaching writing skills; identify factors affecting teaching of writing skills and assess what English languages teachers do to overcome factors affecting their teaching writing. To conduct the study, descriptive survey design with a mixed research method was used. Classroom observation, questionnaire for students and teachers’ interview was used to collect data for the study. The structured classroom observations were conducted with the 4 purposively selected English teachers. The questionnaire consisted of close- ended and open-ended items. Samples of 140 students were selected from grade 12 using simple random sampling technique from the total population of 1400 students. The data gathered through the close-ended questionnaire was analyzed quantitatively through the aid of SPSS. Classroom observations, teachers’ interviewand open-ended data were analyzed qualitatively. The findingsof the study revealed that majority of grade 12 English teachers most significantly used to employ processes-oriented approach of teaching writing and engaging students in the actual writing though they give little attention to the product-oriented approach, the transmission of knowledge of text features. However, theyneglected to practice the prescribed approach to teaching writing, process-genre oriented approach.Large class size, the learners’ poor language skills, limited instructional time, students’ writing anxiety, students’ poor reading background, learners’ lack of motivation to write and lack of teaching resources and facilities were found to impede teachers’ classroom practices in the selected secondary schools context. The findings of the study also showed that teachers use strategies such as; write objective for individual writing lesson, providing structured weekly lesson plan, peer review, playing the role of facilitator and organizer in writing classroom, allowing students’ to use their shared experiences and discussed thoughts, giving writing as homework and assignments to impede the problem they face while teaching writing. The findings of the study also showed that English language teachers did not properly give encouraging comments on learners’ written work and give feedback or correction while writing in appropriate time to alleviate the problem. Finally, based on the finding’s implication of the study, thus summary, conclusion and recommendations were forwarded.