ASSESSING THE PRACTICE OF WRITING SKILLS, THE CASE OF GRADE 11 STUDENTS AT MOTTA SECONDARY AND PREPARATORY SCHOOL EAST GOJAB ZONE IN AMHARA REGIONAL STATE

Abstract

The aim of this study was to focus a study on assessing the practice of writing skill of grade 11students at Motta Preparatory School. The study attempted to find out factors that hinder students’ lack of adequate English vocabulary, planning and processing skills; the motivational problems towards writing and the role of the teachers that use to overcome the problem and their supports. To achieve the objectives of this research descriptive research design has been used. This helped the researcher to employ both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. The participants of the study were 3 teachers who were selected using purposive sampling and 120 students who were selected by simple random sampling. The three teachers were purposively selected because the researcher believed that they can provide enough and clear information to the study. Also, students were sampled by using simple random sampling because the population seemed similar in many characteristics except in their gender. This helped the population seemed similar in many characteristics except in their gender. Data required for the study were collected through text book analysis, class room observation, and questionnaire. Among these, questionnaire and classroom observation were principal tools, and were supplemented by textbook analysis. Text book analysis used to assess the writing materials and writing activities in the text book affects learners’ motivation. Open ended and cloze ended questionnaire which used to find out students’ limited English vocabulary affects on practicing writing skills and identify factors that affect students’ writing motivational problems and writing performance. Furthermore, classroom observation was employed to identify what the English language teachers were planning and processing writing skills when they teaching writing. The study identified the major writing problems students’ encounter. The results of the study revealed that students might have mainly due to the following possible reasons: limited English words or vocabularies, lack of planning and processing writing skills, wrong ways of giving feedback and lack of regular practice. In addition, factors that were affecting students had poor back ground knowledge and poor perception in English language, the writing activities in the text book, and insufficient role of the teachers in the class room to overcome the problems. The major conclusions are students have inadequate English vocabulary, inadequate planning and processing writing skills, wrong ways of giving feedback, wrong attitude towards students writing performance, poor language background, wrong perceptions towards the importance of writing skills, and inadequate support from their teachers. Based on the above mentioned findings and conclusions, appropriate recommendations have been forwarded