Comparative Analysis of Writing Approaches Practised in Malaysian ESL Classrooms

Abstract

There is an enormous literature in the Malaysian schools' context that reveals writing skills deficiency in English among the students. Hence, this study conducted a comparative analysis of the two popular writing approaches (product approach and process approach) practised widely as writing instructions in the educational settings. A case study was conducted on the selected teachers to study their writing instructions in ESL classrooms. The investigation revealed that language teachers largely practice product writing approach. In addition, the paper also provides some insights that as compared to product writing approach, process writing approach is more effective. Process approach provides students more opportunities for independent writing, creative writing and evaluative writing which lead towards developing higher order thinking skills. Hence, this paper recommends that Malaysian schools should adopt strategies of process writing approach to teach English in ESL classrooms to produce students who can write more competently in future.Keywords: writing instructions, Malaysian ESL classrooms, product versus process approach, comparative analysis Recommendations:The study would like to suggest several recommendations to make writing lessons for appealing and meaningful:  Include free writing of product approach in writing lessons  Inculcate drafting habits among students and involve several drafts before submitting the final draft.  Involve students in the editing processes and redraft according to the corrections suggested  Include more in-class writing activities rather than teachers' input 7.0 Sponsoring information -Acknowledgement: The funding for this publication was provided by UTHM TIER 1 Grant (H193)

The Needs Analysis of ESL Learners’ Expository Writing Challenges: Perspectives of ESL Teachers

“…This viewpoint is shared by both the English education system and ESL learners in Malaysia, emphasising the significance of writing as an important language skill, yet difficult to master, especially in writing expository essays (Hassan et al, 2021;Utama, 2020). Among the factors that resulted to this issue are the conventional approaches employed in teaching writing Cheng (2016) and the unnecessary focus on a product-based approach (Palpanadan et al, 2019). As a result, ESL learners were being too dependent on teachers' input.…”

“…As a result, ESL learners were being too dependent on teachers' input. This resulted to uninspiring English learning experiences, which hindered the development of writing techniques Cheng (2016) and ability to communicate effectively and develop higher-order thinking skills (Palpanadan et al, 2019). Importantly, these have not only demotivated learners but also prevented them from using English consistently in their daily lives (Naeem et al, 2023).…”

Improvement to Students' Achievement in Procedural Text Composition Through Process Approach-Based Mind Mapping Employment

“…The writing process approach is viewed as a motivated, individual, and reflective activity in which teachers counsel students, provide constructive feedback, and provide the favorable environment for writing (Boscolo, 2009). Palpanadan et al (2014) noted that the process approach is essentially a cyclical approach. In this approach, students must write back and forth while progressing from one stage to the next and participating in writing activities.…”

“…Recalling Williams (2003), Boscolo (2009), Palpanadan et al (2014) ideas, by integrating Mind Mapping with Process Approach, it is expected to assist the application of this technique appropriately in all writing processes. The Process Approach in Mind Mapping serves as a structured direction for students to write.…”

Esl Undergraduate Sudents’ Perceptions of Collaborative Writing Project

“…Even though collaborative writing is seen as an ideal strategy to teach writing to the ESL learners : however, to date, not many studies have been conducted to see the effectiveness of it in improving an ESL learner's writing skills and motivation to write especially in the context of Malaysia tertiary education. Most studies only focus on the writing strategies employed by ESL learners such as generating ideas using their first language (L1) knowledge, highlighting the four writing stages including editing and revising [6] as well as the process writing approach practiced by teachers to teach writing [7]. Hence, it is such a great idea to first consider the students' perceptions of the collaborative writing task assigned to them, so that they and their instructors could identify what to focus more in upgrading the students' writing skills.…”