Using Pictures and Guided writing Strategy to Improve Malaysian ESL Primary Students' writing Skill

Writing is an important skill that has to be mastered as it is a form of written communication. However, past studies have indicated that writing is the toughest among the other skills, especially among the ESL learners. Using a classroom action research study, this qualitative paper considered primary school students' perspectives on the benefits of using pictures and guided writing strategy to improve their writing skill. Convenient sampling selection was used to select 28 upper level primary school students for this study. Two instruments were specifically used to gather data: classroom observation and semi-structured interview. By following Kemmis and Mctaggart's action research model, this study was conducted in two cycles where each cycle consists of four steps (plan, act, observe and reflect). The gathered qualitative data was then interpreted and analysed to enrich the credibility of the findings. Three themes were identified through field notes and they are the students' cognitive, behavioural and emotional outcomes when pictures and guided writing strategy is instilled in the writing lesson. The research findings revealed that there are significant developments that showed improvement in students' writing skill when pictures and guided writing strategies are used. This paper serves as a guide for researchers and educators who are interested in incorporating pictures and guided writing strategies in the ESL primary classroom that hopefully improves the interest and writing skills of the students.