Improving ESL Students’ Descriptive Writing through Wh-Question Technique

Abstract

This study examined the use of Wh-questions technique in English as Second language (ESL) writing class specifically descriptive writing. The objective of this study is to investigate whether the Wh-questions technique is effective for descriptive writing. The study is an action research with an experimental design involving 22 participants. The students were required to compose descriptive essay before and after the treatment which were treated as pre-test and post-test. Apart from that, an unstructured interview was conducted to identify the students' perception towards the use of Wh-questions technique. The outcome of this study proves that the Wh-questions technique is an effective pre-writing technique for ESL Malaysian secondary school students. Students indicated positive perceptions towards the use Wh-questions technique in descriptive writing.