The problem of mastering English does not involve students alone. The English language teachers, policy makers and curriculum developers are also affected. Thus, teachers have resorted to using higher order thinking skills (HOT) as a means to teach writing to weak ESL learners. The study aimed at developing and validating a higher order thinking skills module for teaching writing to weak ESL learners. It employed a qualitative research paradigm using documents analysis, interviews, observations and validation form. It was conducted in two phases. The first phase was completed with needs analysis specifically identifying problems teachers faced in teaching writing using higher order thinking skills in six selected secondary schools. The ADDIE model approach was used by the ESL teachers and experts in HOTs to create the module content. In the second phase, the teachers were observed ten times to investigate the effectiveness of using the HOTs module developed for teaching writing. The findings revealed that the HOTs module served as a guideline for the teachers in applying and integrating thinking skills in the process of teaching writing. These findings were used to guide decisions on implementing the appropriate teaching pedagogy to apply HOTS for teaching writing.

This paper reviews the literature on the teaching of higher order thinking skills to teach writing in Malaysian context. The issues pertaining the usage of higher order thinking skills to teach writing are also discussed in this paper. ESL teachers are only trained to ask Higher Order Thinking Skills questions where the teaching of writing is concerned but most of them have very little knowledge on implementing the pedagogical knowledge of higher order thinking skills. Despite having multiples of programs to help teachers to infuse higher order thinking skills to teach writing, past studies have reported that teachers were not prepared to teach higher order thinking skills in their own classrooms. Hence, this paper further analyses the need to investigate the issues that are related on the usage of higher order thinking skills to the teaching of writing which needs immediate attention.

Purpose - This research focuses on ESL teachers’ strategies to foster higher-order thinking skills to teach writing to weak ESL learners in two selected secondary schools in Malaysia. ESL teachers’ strategies to foster higher-order thinking skills to teach writing to weak ESL learners were captured and encapsulated to enable the ESL learners to understand and master higher order thinking to improve their writing. Methodology – A qualitative descriptive case study design was employed in the study. The sample was based on a snowball sampling and 4 ESL teachers were selected from two different secondary schools in Malaysia. The main data collection method was classroom observation while thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Each teacher was observed twice. Classroom observation forms and video recordings were used as a main source in data collection. Findings – Findings showed that ESL teachers selected strategies to foster higher-order thinking skills to teach writing including the general procedures in implementing higher-order thinking skills for teaching writing and major considerations at each stage of the implementation. ESL teachers exposed learners to the general procedures of the higher-order thinking skills which were explaining and helping students to understand what higher-order thinking is, leading students to connect to concepts in writing, helping students to infer through real-life situations, using more graphic organizers and teaching problem-solving skills. Significance – The findings can be used to guide decisions on higher-order thinking skills training for ESL teachers, educators and curriculum developers regarding the thinking skills strategies to be mastered in teaching writing.

Flipped Classroom is an approach that is rapidly gaining recognition as a novel teaching approach among Technical and Vocational Engineering and Training institutes in Malaysia. This research aimed at investigating the use of the flipped classroom approach for enhancing Food and Beverage TVET trainees’ speaking skills in view of the need to have a good command of the English Language in the workplace. A qualitative research approach specifically a case study research design was used in this study. Classroom observation, semi-structured interviews (for ESL trainees) and document analysis were used to collect data. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the classroom observation and interviews. A pre-test and post-test were administered to ascertain the TVET trainees’ performance in speaking skills. The study was carried out in a Level Two, Food and Beverage class which consists of 25 trainees and the researcher as an English Language lecturer. Findings revealed that teaching and learning tools by using video creates a positive atmosphere among the trainees both outside and inside the classroom. It was also revealed that using resources such as YouTube videos as guidance for them to dramatise their role according to the situation given by their lecturer in the class builds confidence and ability to engage with peers. The findings of this study revealed that the flipped classroom approach was effective for IKBN (Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara) Food and Beverage trainees because it enhanced their speaking skills based on industry needs.

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