Micro-W: Teaching Narrative Writing to Primary ESL Learners in the New Normal

Abstract

Narrative writing is the most common type of writing being taught at school especially to primary school learners which involves descriptions of an incident. However, past research showed many second language learners had difficulties producing a good narrative composition as they lack practice and mastery of other language elements such as vocabulary and grammar. The Covid-19 pandemic had greatly impacted the teaching and learning of writing skill and had dampened the process in many ways due to a lot of restrictions. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of using Micro-W to improve primary ESL learners’ narrative writing skill and enhance engagement in learning writing in the new normal. Micro-W is a writing template which utilizes Microsoft Word Visual Basic Application (VBA) to enhance learning experience. The template has many features and can be personalized according to the content and theme. It is user-friendly, reusable and promotes autonomous and interactive learning. Micro-W is cost-effective, practical, and accessible in urban and rural areas, online and offline. A research was conducted to 30 Year 5 of low intermediate pupils studying in an urban and a rural primary school in Selangor, Malaysia. A pre-test and post-test were conducted to identify pupils’ improvement in writing skill before and after using Micro-W. Pupils’ perceptions and engagement in learning writing using Micro-W were evaluated using a 4-point Likert scale questionnaire. The findings showed a significant improvement on pupils’ narrative writing skill after using Micro-W. Pupils also responded positively and were more engaged in learning writing. The pandemic had caused great adversity to the teaching and learning processes and had shifted education settings to a more resilient and mobile method of learning. Thus, innovation and improvisation in teaching and learning methodology are highly demanded to cope with the new normal.