Shared Writing in Omani Young Learner Classrooms

Abstract

This study explores the effects of Shared Writing practice in developing children’s writing skills in relation to fluency, accuracy, independence, and confidence levels when writing in the English language. This small scale qualitative study involved 23 Omani English language teachers and 23 children from across three governorates in Oman. The data was collected through open-ended questionnaires for teachers, samples of children’s writings and the continuous assessment documents. The findings revealed that the Shared Writing practice has helped develop children’s speed in writing, their spelling, sentence structure and punctuation levels, as well as their handwriting levels. The findings also showed some improvement in children’s confidence at having a go at writing and editing their own work, as well as some improvement in their ability to write independently.

Author Note

This small scale qualitative research was conducted in the academic year 2011–2012 with a professional colleague (Simon Etherton), when Shared Writing was first introduced within the public school curriculum for Grade Three, in order to explore the effects of this kind of practice on children’s writing development. This research was presented as a paper at TESOL Arabia Conference in Dubai, UAE in 2012.

Appendix