Teaching writing to elementary school students: an activity theory perspective

Abstract

Most of the existing studies on academic writing were conducted in ESL/EFL university settings. Further research targeted at other educational settings such as primary schools, for students in different stages of their studies, will advance our understanding of student writing broadly. The study aims to investigate the impact of writing instruction on students’ engagement, using the activity theory. Participants were five grade four teachers teaching English and their grade four Singaporean students in five classrooms in a local primary school. The observation data and field notes were coded, using Dȍrnyei’s (2007) qualitative data analysis scheme and NVivo. Findings show that preparing mediated tools, arranging division of labour in executing the tasks, setting rules and objects, and having communities that teachers involved in are crucial factors to consider in the activity system. Before discussing student activity system with their own objects/motive, it is important to understand what types of activity system the teachers bring to the writing classroom. Our study contributes knowledge to research on writing instruction and students’ engagement by analysing grade four writing lessons from an activity theory perspective. The findings may also be useful pedagogically for educators outside Asia.