UNDERSTANDING LOW ACHIEVER STUDENTS’ LINGUISTIC AND COGNITIVE PROBLEMS IN WRITING ENGLISH DESCRIPTIVE TEXT

Euis Rina Mulyani; Mu'man Mu'man

Authors

Euis Rina Mulyani IKIP Siliwangi, Indonesia
Mu'man Mu'man IKIP Siliwangi, Indonesia

Abstract

Students’ competence in writing skills plays a significant role in leading them to success in learning English. However, in reality, many Indonesian students experience problems in creating quality texts, in particular descriptive ones. This study aims to examine low-achiever students' problems in writing descriptive text. The study was conducted in a private Senior High School in Bandung. The data was gained from eight students' works on descriptive text. They were obtained from their English teacher. The data was analyzed qualitatively using Miles & Huberman’ (1991) framework of qualitative data analysis, Jacobs et al’s (1981) components of writing, and Byrne’s (1998) types of writing difficulty. The finding shows that the students experienced serious linguistic and cognitive problems in writing the text, in particular in the areas of content, language use, organization, vocabulary, and mechanics. Finally, this finding implies that (1) teaching writing should emphasize the process rather than the product, and (2) providing knowledge of autonomous learning to students is essential so that students can learn and practice writing independently outside the classroom.

References

Asassfer, S. M., Al-Shoubul, Y.M., Zuraiq, W., & Alshoul, S. (2020). Lending ears to EFL learners: Language difficulties. The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1375/aedp.28.1.33

Bai, B., & Wang, J., & Nie, Y. (2020). Self-efficacy, task values and growth mindset: what has the most predictive power for primary school students’ self-regulated learning in English writing and writing competence in an Asian Confucian cultural context? Cambridge Journal of Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2020.1778639

Bui, H. P. (2022). Vietnamese EFL Students’ Use and Misconceptions of Cohesive Devices in Writing. Sage Open, 1-12. DOI: 10.1177/21582440221126993 journals.sagepub.com/home/sgo

Byrne, D. (1988). Teaching writing skills. Longman.

Carroll, L. A. (2002). Rehearsing new roles: How college students develop as writers. Southern Illinois UP.

Dabbagh, A. & Enayat, M. J. (2017). The role of vocabulary breadth and depth in predicting second language descriptive writing performance. The Language Learning Journal, 47(5). https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2017.1335765

Emilia, E. (2010). Teaching writing, developing critical learners. Rizqi Press.

Emilia, E., & Christie, F. (2013). Factual Genres in English: Learning to Write, Read, and Talk about Factual Information. Bandung: Rizqi Press.

Graham, S. (2019). Changing how writing is taught. Review of Research in Education, Vol. 43, pp. 277–303. DOI: 10.3102/0091732X18821125

Harmer, J. (2007). The practice of English language teaching (4th edition). Longman.

Karakoç, D. & Köse, G. D. (2017). The impact of vocabulary knowledge on reading, writing and proficiency scores of EFL learners. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 13(1), 352-378

Kemendikbud. (2014). Permendikbud Nomor 59 Tahun 2014 Kurikulum 2013. https://sma.kemdikbud.go.id/data/files

Kemendikbud. (2022). Capaian Pembelajaran Mata Pelajaran Bahasa Inggris Fase A – Fase F. kurikulum.kemdikbud.go.id

Kim, M., Crossley, S. A., & Kim, B. Second language reading and writing in relation to first language, vocabulary knowledge, and learning backgrounds. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingalism, 25(2), https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2020.1838434

Knapp, P., & Watkins, M. (2005). Genre, Text, Grammar: Technologies for Teaching and Assessing Writing. Unsw Press.

Murphy, R. (2019). English grammar in use (fifth edition). Cambridge.

Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524759

Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524759

Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524759

Nasser, S. M. (2019). Iraqi EFL Students’ Difficulties in Writing Composition: An Experimental Study. International Journal of English Linguistics, 9(1), 178–184.

Nunan, David. 2003. Practical English language Teaching (1st edition). Longman

Nuralisaputri, V. N., & Megawati, F. (2023). Writing descriptive texts: What makes this difficult for lower secondary school learners? Indonesian Tesol Journal, 5(2), 120-133. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376110133_Writing_Descriptive_Texts_What_Makes_this_Difficult_for_Lower_Secondary_School_Learners

Oshima, A. & Hogue, A. (2006). Writing Academic English (fourth edition). Pearson.

Perfectessay. (2022). 4 Characteristics of a good descriptive essay. https://perfectessay.com/blog/characteristics-of-descriptive-essay

Schoonen, R., van Gelderen, A., Stoel, R. D., Hulstijn, J., & de Glopper, K. (2010). Modeling the Development of L1 and EFL Writing Proficiency of Secondary School Students. Language Learning, 61(1), 31–79. doi:10.1111/j.1467-

Silva, T. (1993). Toward an understanding of the distinct nature of L2 writing: The ESL research and its implications. TESOL Quarterly, 27(4), 657–677.

Weigle, S. C. (2002). Assessing writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.