Malaysian Teachers’ Perceptions on Effective Instructional Practices and the Challenges in Teaching Writing Skills: A Conceptual Paper

Abstract

Writing is regarded as one of the most vital skills in the current digital era, as it is necessary for academic success, career advancement and interpersonal connections. However, ESL learners often encounter difficulties in acquiring them. Past studies revealed two predominant approaches to teach writing skills: product approach and process approach. Additionally, challenges like mother tongue interference, students' lack of vocabulary and motivation issues along with writing anxiety could hinder the implementation of effective instructions to teach writing skills. Therefore, this study intends to identify Malaysian teachers' perceptions on effective instructional practices and the challenges they faced when instructing writing skills among the upper primary school students. To gather data, a survey will be administered, with participants selection guided by purposive sampling. To analyse the collected data, the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software V.27 will be employed which will later derive descriptive statistics, presented in tables that include percentages, means, and standard deviations. The findings of the paper would assist teachers in refining their instructional practices and selecting optimal approaches for enhancing their students' writing skills. Furthermore, the identified challenges would provide policymakers with insights into the resources required by teachers to effectively teach writing skills.