Implementation of scaffolding in teaching writing skills in an ESL classroom: A study of practices and problems of Bangladeshi tertiary level ESL teachers

Abstract

Scaffolding is a popular pedagogical method that occurs when teachers provide a particular kind of support to the learners as they learn a new concept or skill. In terms of teaching English writing, lots of studies have been done regarding implementation, effectiveness and perception of scaffolding in different countries of the world. However, study on the implementation scaffolding in teaching ESL writing is scarce in the context of Bangladesh. So, this paper aims to investigate the practices and problems of implementing scaffolding tertiary in teaching writing in a tertiary level ESL classroom. This is a qualitative research for which I adopted case study as the research design that includes- class observation and semi-structured interview, as means of collecting data. The study was conducted in a private university of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The findings of this study revealed that the ESL teachers prefer product-based approach in teaching writing where they commonly use scaffolding techniques like- modeling, bridging, contextualization and building schema. Varying merit levels and needs of the students and their unwillingness to write or perform turned out to be the major issues while teaching writing in an ESL classroom. The teachers expressed the ways they deal and solve problems in the classroom. At the end, a mixed approach of process-product writing was recommended to be experimented with to improve the teaching of writing.