The use of formative assessment to teach writing skills to English First Additional Language learners

Abstract

Many South African parents prefer English as the language of instruction and associate it with greater socio-economic success for their children. Constructive writing may be experienced as challenging for learners whose home language is not English. Studies have highlighted poor reading skills in South Africa, and reading and writing are overlapping constructs. I aimed to explore how teachers use formative assessment in teaching writing skills to English First Additional Language Grade 4-6 learners. I applied Walqui’s (2006) model of scaffolding which is based on Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory. The theory combines the interactive and collaborative nature of learning support. I applied a qualitative research approach, using a phenomenological strategy. Nine teachers from three Setswana home language primary schools were purposively sampled, three English teachers from each school were selected. I used semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and document analyses to collect data over six weeks and analysed it using qualitative content analysis. The main findings revealed that teachers were unable to use formative assessment effectively in their teaching of writing due to factors such as learners’ poor proficiency in English, lack of parental support, overcrowded classrooms, limited time, an inadequate supply of teaching and learning resources, and a lack of intervention strategies for progressed learners. Though these findings cannot be generalised to a greater population because of sample size, various strategies for teaching writing were revealed, which can be useful for teachers. The dissertation is concluded by giving some suggestions for future research. Key Terms: Assessment; Formative assessment; Teaching and learning; Writing skills; First Additional Language; English First Additional Language; Language of Learning and Teaching.