LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 13:6 June 2013
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Remedial Writing Instruction for Primary School Students with Difficulties in Tamil Language

K. Ranganathan, M.Ed., Ph.D. Research Scholar
K. Anil Kumar, Ph.D.
S. Venkatesan, Ph.D.

Abstract

Remedial writing instruction is part of a larger basic skills academic re-education program focused on students who did not benefit from conventional strategies or procedures.

The present study uses an exploratory-cum-one shot pre-test post-test non-experimental design comprising of non-equivalent groups for initial development and try-out of a need based remedial instruction program on 17 students from 5 government schools randomly identified as falling below a set cut-off score on a criterion referenced Tamil writing assessment device.

The 12-week teaching program spread across 36 sessions of 45-minute duration each for 3 days a week, was carried out using an assortment of individual as well as small group based strategies, techniques and activities drawn from several sources, but based on a discernible 4-tier interventional model. It involved (i) direct skills based instruction on identified individual skill deficits; (ii) teaching the generic structure, semantics, grammar and organization of writing; (iii) promoting self management strategies for writing; and, (iv) use of technology-assisted procedures for writing.

Results indicate the possibility of developing a comprehensive remedial teaching package program for improving Tamil writing in primary school children and demonstrates significant gains between their pre to post test writing scores (p: <0.001). Admittedly, the rather inferior research design used in this study precludes sufficient external validity and wide spread applications of the results in classroom settings across the country. Nonetheless, it paves the way for a need to undertake more intensive, highly focused and case-controlled studies on writing intervention strategies on several other Indian languages for benefit of such students in our country.

Introduction

Writing is an important foundation skill for success in school. It is a complex form of communication involving a process that covers organization and structuring of sentences, use of correct grammar, punctuations and spelling. As a skill to be mastered by every student, it involves handwriting or keyboarding when digital personal devices are used. Unfortunately, many students show difficulties in written language production. They may lack knowledge of the writing processes, employ deficient strategies for organization, planning, goal implementation and self-regulation (Grigorenko, Mambrino & Preiss, 2012).

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

K. Ranganathan, M.Ed.
Research Scholar, Department of Education
Regional Institute of Education, National Council of Education Research and Training Manasagangotri, Mysore: 570 006 Karnataka, India
ranganathanrie@gmail.com

K. Anil Kumar, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in Education
Regional Institute of Education, National Council of Education Research and Training
Manasagangotri, Mysore: 570 006 Karnataka, India
dranilkumar67@gmail.com

S. Venkatesan, Ph.D.
Professor in Clinical Psychology
All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore 570 006 Karnataka, India
psyconindia@gmail.com
psyconindia@aiishmysore.in
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