An Investigation Into Efl Students’ Common Errors In Writing Paragraph And The Possible Strategies To Minimize The Errors: The Case Of Grade 11 Students At Enchini Secondary School

Abstract

he main purpose of this study was to investigate EFL students’ common errors while writing paragraphs and to describe the strategies that are used to minimize the identified errors. The study was carried out in Enchine Secondary School with special reference to grade11 students. In this study, descriptive survey design involving both qualitative and quantitative techniques was employed to address the problem. To conduct the study, four English teachers and 72 grade 11 students were selected through random sampling technique. In order to achieve the objectives, the study employed three data gathering tools: document analysis, questionnaire and interview. Quantitative data were collected through questionnaires and qualitative data were collected through interviews and document analysis. The data that collected through questionnaire were analyzed quantitatively by using frequency, and percentage. The data that were collected through interview, document analysis, and open-ended questionnaire were analyzed qualitatively using narrative form. The study identified the major paragraph writing problems students’ encounter: These are problem of organization, unity, development, grammar, punctuation and spelling. . It was also discovered that teachers did not use variety of approaches to motivate their students in writing activities; the results again indicated that very limited and insufficient writing strategies were being used both by teacher and students to overcome paragraph writing problems of students. Thus, as paragraph writing is a skill that could be improved through adequate practicing, Enchine Secondary School students should have been given chance of learning and practicing features of good paragraph to effectively use them to write a paragraph. English subject teachers ought to adapt the writing activities to make interesting, motivating and achievable to the students in time given for the activity.