5ㆍ6학년 초등 영어 교과서의 쓰기 활동 및 학습자 인식 분석

Analysis of writing activities in elementary English textbooks and the perceptions of 5th and 6th graders

This study intends to find out alternatives to improve the writing activities currently used in the fifth and sixth grade English textbooks and investigate how the students perceive them. In order to fulfill this purpose of the study, the following research questions have been established: (a) what is the nature of writing activities included in the English textbooks in terms of types of tasks, writing steps and the use of visual materials?, (b) how the use of writing activities requires students to perform in terms of interactions and language levels to use, and (c) what are the students’ perceptions of writing activities in terms of difficulty levels, preferences, and expectations for helping their writing skills improve?. To answer these, 13 fifth and sixth grade English textbooks were analyzed, and 101 fifth and sixth grade students participated in a survey. The results of the study indicate that the controlled writing step was weighted on too much, and that the diversity of writing activities was limited even within those in the identical writing step. In addition, the use of pictures out of various types of visual aids and the individual writing opportunities were used predominantly. Based on the results, this article ends with suggestions and directions for improving the current nature of writing activities in English textbooks.