The Role of Parallel Writing in Teaching Writing in English (Chapter 1)

CHAPTER ONE

THE STUDY

1. INTRODUCTION

This research attempted to investigate the usage of parallel writing in teaching writing in English to Form 1 students. Young learners always have difficulties in writing especially free essays or composition. Though they have learnt writing since primary schools in English lessons, many students still do not acquire the ability to write a good essay. The writing still is included in the curriculum specifications as one of the skills which students have to master. This research was undertaken with concern of the inability of students in writing good essays.

This chapter will include the statement of the problem, objective of the study, significance of the study, research questions, research hypotheses and limitation of the study.

1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Writing is a skill that students have to learn and master by the time they finished school. However, this is not the case for many students in Malaysia. Some students are able to write but some students have difficulties even after graduating from school. Writing is a crucial skill that needs to be applied in students’ life as well as in their work later on. To master English, it is important to master this skill. Students have not only with the content of the essay but also in vocabulary, grammar and punctuation in their writing. They tend to make mistakes when they write long sentences. So, using parallel writing in writing class will absolutely help students to enhance and motivate their writing skills.

2. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

This research was carried out to achieve two main objectives. They are : i) To determine whether parallel writing technique help students to write a composition. ii) To determine students perception towards the use of parallel writing in their writing.

3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Two research questions are constructed to assist the researcher to carry out the study. They are : i) Is parallel writing effective in helping students of Form 1 to write in English? ii) What are students’ perceptions of the role of parallel writing in helping them to write in English.

4. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

Two hypotheses were made: i) Students will be able to write good sentences using parallel writing. ii) They will be able to write a good essay by combining sentences and did not use the same words. iii) Parallel writing can motivate students to write.

5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Many students in the secondary school in Malaysia are not interested to learn English. This is because they find it very difficult to master and sometimes it is because of how they are taught. When students have problems in mastering the language, it will lead to their inability to comprehend the language. The findings will help teachers to teach writing and provide an inside to the usefulness of parallel writing to text book developers.

6. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study only focused on the students in Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bukit Gading, Sungai Buloh, Selangor Darul Ehsan. It was also restricted to 15 students in Form 1 of average level in English. Thus, the findings cannot be generalized to all students in Malaysia. However, the findings can contribute an insight to an alternative technique of teaching writing to students in Malaysia.

Another limitation is the teacher did not have enough time to consult every student for their essay as they were 15 students involved in this research. Therefore, due to the limited time, the study will take place, only in the pre-lesson to determine the effectiveness of parallel writing will carried out.

7. CONCLUSION

This chapter discussed on the research that will be undertake. The research consists of two objectives, two research questions and three research hypotheses. The main objective of the research is to determine the use of parallel writing in helping students in writing a good essay and their perceptions towards parallel writing. In Malaysia, teaching English writing is the hardest part where students are not interested in learning this Second Language. Students found it hard to learn the language especially in writing because of the approach use usually not helping them. To master this Second Language, it is important to master this writing skill.