Publication Date

Spring 3-24-2012

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)

First Advisor

Alex Silverman

Abstract

The Algerian educational system has put great emphasis on the importance of teaching English and in particular on writing skill so as to prepare competent learners able to interact accurately and fluently with the external world and to cope with the new realities of globalization. However, while 3AS EFL students are expected to have the basic writing skills, they find themselves struggling, unable to produce and develop a piece of writing that meets the writing conventions. Those students confront the same challenge once enrolled in Interpreting and Translation concentration or English as a Foreign Language studies at the faculty of Letters, Human and Social Studies. While this is true, EFL instructors also find it the most challenging skill to teach. The problem, I believe, is due to the fact that the teaching and learning context is not adequate either to teach or to learn the writing skill effectively and appropriately. Many factors (e.g., excessive chronic work demand) hinder the instructors to teach writing adequately, forcing them to follow a “ drill and kill” curriculum. Learners without enough support and guidance, become frustrated, unmotivated and unwilling to produce any piece of writing. The thesis addresses the issue of how instructors can support their students using “scaffolding” strategy. It aims at raising teachers’ awareness about the necessity of using “scaffolding”, as a powerful and effective strategy, to teach writing so as to help students not only overcome the difficulties they face when writing but also regain their selfconfidence as “anyone can write”.

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