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Chapter One
Introduction
Writing in a foreign or second language is a hard task for students whose native language is not
of the same origin as the target language. In general, writing is the least favored skill to most of the
students because this skill requires a lot of thinking and not to mention the tedious process that can
lead to loss of interest. Due to this, many problems in writing may arise because the students are not
adequately familiar with the foreign language, specifically the English language.
The Grade 7 students of Ligao National High School in Ligao City has been observed to be
having this problem in writing as shown by the results of the survey tests given to them recently by
the researchers.
The researchers conduct this study to point out specifically the problems being encountered by
the Grade 7 students of Ligao National High School. This study is also necessary for the researchers
to find out the solutions to these problems through the help and recommendations of the interviewed
respected personnel.
Writing is a skill that should not be neglected. It needs a lot of attention from the teachers and
students because it is necessary not only in their daily academic life but it is also a productive skill
that must be taken seriously all through out their adult life.
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A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing published by Linda Flower and John Hayes in 1981
provides the groundwork for further research into how thought processes influence the writing
process. A cognitive theory is focused on gaining insight into the writing process through the
writer's thought processes. Composition theorists have attacked the problem of accessing the writer's
thought in various ways. This theory sought to outline the writer's choice-making through out the
writing process, and how those choices constrained or influenced other choices down the line.
This study reports the findings of a thorough investigation to point out the problems that the
Grade 7 Students of Ligao National High School face and how such problems can lead to their
performances in writing. Emphasis is placed on the factors affecting students' difficulty in writing,
the motivational techniques used by the teachers to encourage students' in writing and the suggested
programs of the Department of Education to solve students' difficulty in writing. Also, part of this
The researchers contend that writing being the least favored skill is not the central factor on
students' difficulty in writing, rather it is the role of the teachers and the students that must go side
by side to master writing skills. "Writing gives the opportunity to the students to be adventurous to
the language, to take the risk and to go further of what is learned to talk about" (Shouman 2002) .
The teachers of the English language should be aware of the students' difficulties involved in the
process of writing and students should know how to produce fairly coherent, meaningful and proper
composition.
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Theoretical Framework
The Learning Perspective argues that children imitate what they see and hear, and that children
learn from punishment and reinforcement. (Shaffer,Wood, & Willoughby,2002). The main theorist
Skinner argued that adults shape the speech of children by reinforcing the babbling of infants
that sound most like words. (Skinner,1957, as cited in Shaffer, et. al. 2002).
The Learning Perspective theory supports the main problem of the current study. Skinner’s
perspective will be used to strengthen the researchers’ argument about the need of reinforcement to
The English Composition teacher Karliner A. said in 1974 that writing competency is a skill
which needs continual reinforcement; it is impossible to expect that one student will become a good
writer if he has never written before and if it will not be required to write again.
Well – founded writing requires practice and feedback, which many language teachers pay little
attention – reason why most students are not motivated to write and create exemplary compositions.
Composition teacher Mile, J. (1975) also expressed his stand that teaching writing is a
responsibility of teachers. He says, “We know that good writing, like good thinking, cannot be
taught ‘once and for all’ it is not a simple skill like swimming; indeed even a swimmer can be
Teachers play a vital role in teaching writing. For some theorists and researchers, teachers are
the only ones who could help students improve their skills in writing and lessen or prevent students’
Another theory that supports the study is the Interactionalist Theory. This theory explains that
Interactionalists argue that “ children are born with a powerful brain that matures slowly and
predisposes them to acquire new understandings that they are motivated to share with others”
The main theorist associated with this theory is Lev Vygotsky. Lygotsky believes that social
interaction creates a “motivating force”. It motivates the child to use and master the language for it
Lev Vygotsky emphasized the importance of language as a social tool when he said, “The
primary function of speech, both for the adult and for the child, is the function of communication,
John-Steiner says, “when creative young people form a community – however temporary it may be
– they become more aware of themselves, they profit from the criticism of their peers and they
Based on this, we can infer that teachers’ feedback helps a lot. As mentors, they need to provide
feedback and comments on students’ output. By doing so, they are giving students motivation to
work harder and make their work better. (As John-Steiner says, “The influence of a live mentor
Writing skill is an important productive skill and one of the hardest skills to acquire. There are a
lot of problems that are being encountered by students in developing this skill. Lack of knowledge in
English language, such as not being able to write a phrase, clause or a sentence, is one of those
Both Skinner and Vygotsky explain the importance of teachers and the role of motivational
Teachers must be extra careful in choosing the right strategy. They must always consider the
role and importance of giving feedback. Aside from their own teaching strategy, they must also look
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and search for other ways on how to motivate the students to write and lessen the problems that they
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
BY STUDENTS IN WRITING
INTERACTIONALIST THEORY
Lev Vygotsky
Conceptual Framework
The research study was conceptualized based on INPUTS, PROCESSES and OUTPUTS.
The INPUTS of this study were the selected students and teachers of Ligao National High
School.
The PROCESSES involved were descriptive and investigative methods. To gather the data, the
researchers utilized questionnaires and conducted interviews. Descriptive and investigative analysis
were used to know the different problems encountered by grade 7 students in writing and the
different techniques used by teachers in motivating students to write. The data had used statistical
The OUTPUTS of the study were the problems being encountered by Grade 7 students of
Ligao National High School in writing and the techniques used by teachers to overcome them.
Feedback was provided in order to inform the respondents of the result of the the study.
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DESCRIPTIVE
STUDENT AND METHOD
TEACHER FACTORS: INVESTIGATIVE
RESEARCH FINDINGS
PROBLEMS BEING METHOD
AND
ENCOUNTERED BY UTILIZATION OF
RECOMMENDATIONS
GRADE 7 STUDENTS OF QUESTIONNAIRES
LNHS IN WRITING INTERVIEWS
STATISTICAL TOOLS
General Problem:
What are the problems being encountered by the Grade 7 students of Ligao National High
Specific Problems:
What are the factors affecting the Grade 7 students of Ligao National High School’s
difficulty in writing?
What are the motivational techniques used by the teachers of Ligao National High School to
What are the suggested programs of the Department of Education to solve the students'
difficulty in writing?
Hypotheses
Operational Hypotheses:
1. English as a secondary language affects the Grade 7 students of Ligao National High School
difficulty in writing.
2. The appropriateness of motivational techniques used by the teachers greatly affects students'
difficulty in writing.
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Null Hypotheses:
1. English as a secondary language does not affect the Grade 7 students of Ligao National High
2. The appropriateness of motivational techniques used by the teachers does not affect students'
difficulty in writing
Assumptions
Specific Questions:
Assumption: There are several factors that can affect student's ability in writing.
Assumption: There are certain factors that affect student's perception in writing.
Assumption: The teachers may use several techniques and activities to encourage students to write.
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As perceived by the researchers and also with the results gathered, it is relevant and necessary to
point out specifically the factors that contribute to their difficulty in writing. In a span of two weeks,
the researchers have gathered qualitative and quantitative data that proves the problems faced by the
Grade 7 students in writing. The study will be of great of importance to the ff:
Students. The implementation of this study will benefit the Grade 7 students because if this
study succeeded in determining the problems they are facing in writing then this study may provide
them with solutions that they can use to solve these problems.
Teachers. This study will help the teachers to conceptualize techniques that can help them on
curriculum would need to find approaches to teaching English as a second language. This study may
help professionals to formulate programs that can help utilize students' difficulty in writing.
Other researchers. This study can open new doors for other researchers to investigate the
possible solutions and actions to be taken in the improvement of students writing performance in
English.
This study aims to find not only immediate solutions but also recommendations from respected
This study is conducted to determine the problems being encountered by the Grade 7 students of
Ligao National High School in writing as perceived by the researchers through the survey results
last January 18, 2017. The aspects looked into were the problems being encountered by the Grade 7
students in writing, the factors that affect their difficulty in writing, the techniques used by the
teachers to encourage them in writing and the suggested programs of the Department of Education
General Purpose: To determine the problems being encountered by the Grade 7 students of Ligao
Aspects Studied: Problems encountered in writing, Factors affecting their difficulty in writing,
techniques used by teachers to encourage students in writing and suggested programs by the
Definition of Terms
Writing
-a set of visible or tactile signs used to represent units of language in a systematic way, with the
purpose of recording messages which can be retrieved by everyone who knows the language in
question and the rules by virtue of which its units are encoded in the writing system (Coulmas,
-the teaching of English to people who speak in a different language and who live in a country
Motivation
-internal and external factors that stimulates desire and energy to be continually interested and
Techniques
-the manner of and ability which an artist, dancer, athlete, or the like employs the technical skills of
Curriculum Design
-term used to describe the purposeful, deliberate, and systematic organization of curriculum
Chapter Two
Related Literature
Local
Expert writers had more pre-writing activities, more generated ideas, more organizational
decisions, more retrieved ideas, and more evaluations before writing down their notes than did the
This finding validates Sasaki and Hirose’ (1996) claim that L2 writing performance is
characterized by one’s previous writing experience and confidence in L2 writing. However, it must
be noted that not all the respondents acknowledged that writing background had an effect on the
success of their present writing performance-a result which was gleaned from the interview with
the respondents. Some claim that even if they had poor writing background, they still obtained a
high score in their diagnostic essay. This finding is understandable since writing success is an
amalgamation of complex factors and cannot be attributed to writing background alone. (Leah E.
Gustillo, 2005)
Foreign
cognitive activity involving cognitive resources and utilizing processes relevant to achieving
communicative goals. Second, writing assessment needs to develop frameworks or models informed
by a thorough review of cognitive and instructional literature. Such frameworks would take into
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consideration the assessment of full complex abilities that are activated in writing. (Deane et al.,
2008)
Related Studies
Local
The top five most frequently occurring errors that are distributed in three different levels of
writing proficiency are COMMA (unnecessary or missing comma, missing comma after an
introductory clause or phrase, missing comma before a nonrestrictive clause) 16.6 %, WORD
CHOICE (wrong word form/word choice) 13.5%, VERBS (S-V Agreement, verb tense, verb form),
run-on sentences) 9.4 %. All three levels have errors on these aforementioned categories. However,
out of the 28 error types identified in the essays, only 24 types appeared in Level 3 essays. Level 3
essays have no errors in pronoun-antecedent agreement, wrong punctuation (e.g. question mark
instead of a period), missing hyphen, and unnecessary word. (Carlo Magno and Leah Gustillo, 2012)
In almost all writing contexts, good writing is appreciated and bad writing is despised. Good
writing is rewarded by the success they get in acing written examinations, while bad writers seem to
be penalized by their getting low evaluations and failing marks. The present study focused in
characterizing good/more proficient ESL student writers vis-a-vis less proficient/bad ESL student
writers who wrote an argumentative essay in their English class by identifying variables in which
they significantly differ. The present investigation is motivated by the importance of understanding
what skilled or proficient writing is in the Philippine setting. (Leah E. Gustillo, 2016)
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Foreign
English Composition students usually write about personal opinions, which shows that
sometimes they do not get informed of real situations and almost always they write based on what
they think in relation to the topic provided. A lower number of students make emphasis on the
importance of reading before writing. Such situation clarifies the fact that reading is not taken into
account as this must be done as the most important base for writing, helping to have an overview of
different topics when composing. In this point, if students do not enhance the habit of reading or do
not take into account this fact before the writing process, students will not be able to create adequate
composition. (Aragón Jiménez, Claudia Esmeralda; Baires Mira, Dalia Cecilia; Rodriduez, Gloria
Stephany, 2013)
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Synthesis
Related Literature
The aforementioned literary works about writing show different perspectives on how good and
bad writing are viewed. The authors stated certain factors that may affect students’ writing
performance and how different variables make different impacts on each student’s writing ability. In
relation to the topic of this research, the information given by the literary works helped the
researchers broaden their understanding of the topic. The researchers can use the information
provided by the literary works to determine certain phenomena in writing and establish a general
connection between writing problems and the factors affecting the students’ writing performance.
Related Studies
The aforementioned studies conducted by other researchers about certain problems in students’
writing cited existing problems that students encounter during their writing process. The results of
the studies showed underlying factors that affect students’ writing and diagnosed possible causes of
the problems. The researchers of this topic also aim to diagnose and determine problems in writing
encountered by Grade 7 students. Using the result of the study, the researchers aim to be able to
Chapter Three
Research Methodology
This chapter deals on the methodology applied in the study. Specifically, the method used,
respondents, gathering data and statistical treatment of the data were likewise used so as to give a
The descriptive and the investigative methods were used in the study. A survey questionnaire in
gathering data. However, observations, interpretations, and informal interviews were considered
Selection of Respondents
The respondents were the man source of information of this research. The respondents were
selected Grade 7 students coming from Ligao National High School. The study utilized 60
respondents who served as the sources of the data gathered. Its distribution was presented in Table
1.
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TABLE 1
THE RESPONDENTS
RD1 20 33.33%
MLQ1 20 33.33%
FA1 20 33.33%
Total 60 100%
This study made use of observations, informal interviews, and survey questionnaires in a form
of checklist for the students to identify the specific problems in writing that they encountered or
experienced.
Data Collection/Procedure
constitutes to answer the statement of the problem of this study. It was first finalized and checked
respondents of the said study in accordance with the approval from the School Principal of Ligao
National High School. It was followed by the retrieval of the accomplished forms to collate all the
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responses of the selected respondents and clear interpretations that would result in the major
Interview. To gather additional information related to the study and to get suggestions, the
researchers conducted interviews from the selected Grade 7 English Teachers of Ligao National
High School.
In the treatment of the data gathered, the following statistical tools were employed for better
A. Percentage Technique : in order to quantify all the tabulated responses. Formula is shown below:
P = n X 100
N
Where:
B. Rank Method : This is an orderly arrangement of data from the highest ton lowest or vice - versa.
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GRAPHOMOTOR PROBLEMS
RESPONDENTS