Problems associated with composition writing among form one ‘A’ pupils of Senchi-Ferry Methodist Junior High School

Abstract

This study sought to find out the problems of composition writing among students in the Senchi-Ferry Methodist Junior High School in Ghana. The focus of the research work was on spelling and concord errors that were most common in their written composition. The target population was all students in Senchi-Ferry Methodist Junior High School, numbering 250 students. The sample used was thirty (30) students from Form One „A‟ class. The instruments used for data collection were test, interview and questionnaire. The results from the data collected indicated that the students have problems with spelling, paragraphing, concord, punctuation and tenses. Since the errors were many, and the researcher could not address all these problems in this study, the researcher narrowed his study on spelling and concord errors only. The causes of these errors were identified to be poor teaching methods, inadequate teaching and learning material, and parents‟ engagement of their wards in selling of items after school which made the learners not able to read their notes at home. The researcher came out with some intervention strategies which include the use of language game (mother and children), the substitution table, home visits, Team Teaching and shared writing to help students minimize the amount of errors committed in composition in English. These strategies helped learners to improve on their composition writing skills significantly.