Abstract:
Writing is an important skill for language production. However, it is considered a
difficult skill, particularly in English as second language (ESL) contexts where students
face challenges in that aspect. The present study was conducted to investigate
difficulties that students of Northern School of Business face in composition writing;
causes of challenges and remedies to those challenges. Though a number of students
could express themselves in English, they could not write composition competently in
the areas of introduction, content, and conclusion. Purposive simple random sampling
was used to gather data using thematic data analysis for the study. These involved
administering questionnaire, pre-intervention test to thirty sampled students; and three
English teachers interviewed. All the said activities were geared towards achieving the
research objectives, namely, to identify students’ challenges in composition writing,
causes and remedies. The result indicated that, students had challenges in the
organization of ideas to write, content mastering, limited vocabulary and the structure
of essays. Students’ effective English composition writings were also interfered by their
first language (L1). The result also revealed that teachers did not use the appropriate
instructional methods and approaches to teach composition writing. In the light of the
study’s findings, the researcher recommended that students should do more reading to
improve their language competency which will enhance their writing. Teachers of
English should pay more attention to composition writing using the appropriate
methods. The eclectic approach to teaching composition was also recommended for
teaching English composition writing.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Foreign Languages
Education and Communication, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, in
partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Education
(Teaching English as a Second Language)
in the University of Education, Winneba
SEPTEMBER, 2019