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Teaching and Learning Writing During Covid-19:

A Case Study on an English Medium School

Umme Hani Anika; ID-171013003

Department of English and Humanities, ULAB

ENG 435: Research Methodology

Submitted to: Mahmud Hasan Khan

October 2, 2020
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Abstract

The global pandemic of 2020, has made most schools in Dhaka, Bangladesh switch to the online
platform. Prior to the pandemic, schools mostly operated offline through face-to-face interaction
between students and teachers, as such the sudden transition from offline to online teaching
using Zoom, Google Meet, or other similar software, has brought on mixed reactions from both
students and teachers. The main objective of this research is to explore the teaching methods of
second language writing online and its efficiency from teachers’ and students’ perspectives in an
English Medium school in Dhaka. From the teachers’ point of view, this research aims to find
out the type of writing approach they use and their views on that approach as well as problems
they face while teaching that approach online. From the students’ perspective it will look into
their problems while learning writing using the particular approach in the online platform.
Suggestions for improvement from both groups to improve the teaching and learning experience
will also be accounted for.
The research will use two writing approach- Product Approach and Process Approach, to
identify the type of approach used to teach writing online. This research will use qualitative data
collection method. The researcher will use semi-structured interviews for both teacher and
student group. Fourteen students within the age of 12-14 and four teachers from a Dhaka based
English Medium School will be selected for the interviews. The interviews will be collected
through phone conversations and the answers from both groups will be analyzed thematically in
line with the queries posed in the research questions of the proposed study. Apart from
interviews, classroom observation through online web portal and students’ essays will also be
analyzed to verify students’ and teachers’ claims in the interviews. This research will therefore,
address the writing approach and find out the problems and in turn suggest solutions that will
improve the online second language writing experience for both educators and learners.
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Introduction
Writing is considered one of the productive skills along with speaking. However, McDonough
and associates, (2013), in their book Materials and Methods in ELT argued that with the current
advent of technology writing emails play a vital role in communication even more than telephone
calls. They also emphasize that writing for most learners with English as their first language or
second language occurs at an extensive level only as part of a formal education. In Bangladesh,
there are mainly 3 types of institution systems: Bangla Medium Schools, English Medium
Schools, and Madrasa, and English is among the compulsory subjects taught in all these different
education streams (Education Policy Bangladesh, 2010). Although in both Bangla and English
Medium Schools, writing in English is more emphasized on, than other 3 skills- listening,
speaking, and reading (Akhter, 2014). According to Ferdousi (2017), English Medium Schools
apply a different approach to teaching writing compared to Bangla Medium Schools, which puts
the students of the former medium at an advantage due to more exposure to the English
Language. This makes it evident that writing has not been studied much in context to English
Medium Schools, as these schools are used as a backdrop to study the writing methods and skills
employed in Bangla Medium Schools. And in the wake of the current pandemic, physical
classrooms have been replaced by online platform ever since the closing of educational
institutions from March 17, 2020 (UNB, 2020). The sudden shift from offline to online gave way
to several problems in the teaching and learning process due to less access to internet and
television (Hasan, 2020). Therefore, the problems faced while teaching and learning writing in
physical classrooms as well as online, need to be studied in context to English Medium School.
Tribble (1996), refers to two types of learners in an ESL of EFL classroom, one type are those
that examine different texts and develop analytical skills which they use in real life and the other
type are those who write only to show their skills in assessments. And teachers often face
problem as most learners’ objectives are only to ace the assessments (Tribble, 2010: 161, as cited
in McDonough et al., 2013).
McDonough and associates, (2013), discussed about two approaches- the Product Approach and
the Process Approach which have gained popularity over the recent years in teaching writing.
Product Approach is where the teachers act as a judge of the students’ write-up, guiding the
students in writing by examining specific features of model texts and complete the write-up in
one go after which the teacher provides feedback on students’ proper use of grammar,
vocabulary and language structure. The students are not made aware of their audience or the
context in which they write about. The Process Approach on the other hand takes students
through a rigorous process of brainstorming, note taking to organize ideas and form cohesive
connections between their ideas. Then through drafting, peer feedback, redrafting and editing
they finally submit their write-up to the teacher who has to guide students in accomplishing the
whole process but will not intervene in a way that prevents students’ creativity (Steele, 2004).
Hasan and Akhand (2010) argued that in most Bangla medium schools in Bangladesh, teachers
use the Old Grammar Translation Approach, even though Communicative Approach to teaching
was introduced in the curriculum, teachers’ lack of training prevents the use of this approach.
Sadia (2019), also found that even if most Bangla medium teachers do know the Communicative
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approach they are unable to apply it due to students’ and parents’ attitude towards learning
writing only to receive good grades. As such these researches focus more towards writing
approaches in Bangla Medium Schools, and hence, provide a scope to explore writing
approaches in context to English Medium Schools.
Due to the current pandemic, where most government schools have shifted from offline face-to-
face interactions to online classes using television, web portals, radio and mobile phones (Hasan,
2020) and few others have opted for Zoom or Google Meet (Sultana, 2020). The concept of
studying online is new for school goers of Bangladesh, unlike the West, where a study by
Wijeyewardene et al., (2013) on teaching writing online, give some idea on how to navigate
teaching and learning in an online environment. However, there has been little focus in
Bangladeshi context.
The objectives of this study is to investigate the writing approach used in teaching and learning
writing in an online platform and its effectiveness from the perspectives of teachers and students
in the context of English Medium School. The study will look into the teaching methods
particularly in terms of Product Approach and Process Approach, and analyze students’ essays in
terms of the proper structure of an essay with topic sentence, supporting details, thesis statement
and conclusion, as well as grammar and vocabulary to assess the approach in which essay
writing is taught. In addition, the results of the study will help to address the possible solutions in
teaching and learning writing online. The following research questions arise in a context where
online teaching is the practice and physical classrooms are not attainable at the moment:
1. Which approach is followed by teachers to teach writing online?
2. What makes teachers use an approach to teach writing online?
3. To what extent does the teacher’s knowledge of technology get in the way in using an
approach?
4. How does an approach used in teaching writing affect students’ learning?
5. To what extent does the students’ knowledge of technology get in the way of their learning
writing?
Past research and relevant literatures described above in the introduction will be further
examined in the literature review section and theories described in the section will be used in
developing a framework for the study. The methodology section will address the two approaches
to writing- Product and Process Approach in relation to essay writing and its structure. The data
collected will include teachers’ and students’ interviews with regards to the methods used in
teaching writing in online classroom. In addition essays of the students will be analyzed to look
for the proper essay structure which includes, topic sentence, supporting points, thesis statement
and conclusion, as well as grammar and vocabulary, and classroom observations through online
web portal will help to validate or refute teachers’ and students’ claims about teaching methods
and its effectiveness in interviews. Due to the researcher’s affiliation with an English Medium
School in Dhaka, for ease of study and data collection the research will be conducted only on
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that school. At the end of the research proposal a proposed schedule of work using Gantt chart
will be provided.
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Literature Review
In teaching language, skills are often divided into 4 types, they are: listening, speaking, reading
and writing (McDonough et al., 2013). In countries like Bangladesh, where English is taught and
learnt as a second language, writing plays an important role in the language learning process.
This study aims to explore the writing approach used in an online environment in an English
Medium School in light of Product Approach and Process Approach to writing. In addition the
effectiveness of the writing approach will be evaluated through the lens of students and teachers
and solutions to tackle problems in an online environment will be provided.
The successful approaches to writing in EFL/ESL classrooms as advised by ELT experts,
include: product, process and genre (Wenden, 1987, as cited in Hasan and Akhand, 2010).
According to Steele (2004), the proper approach in any classroom will vary due to each students’
cognitive abilities, the kind of text used, the education system in a school and various other
factors.
Steele (2004), defines product approach as a classical approach to teaching, which motivates
students to form their own piece of writing based on the language structure of model texts
provided by teachers. There are 4 stages in this approach: in the first stage, students study
particular features such as paragraphing and language used in the model text, this also activates
their schema (prior knowledge) about a certain topic. In the second stage, the students’ writing
output is controlled by making them practice a particular feature in separation, for example
students might be asked to form request statements using the formal letter as a model. In the third
stage, the ideas of the students are organized before they start writing, where arrangement of
ideas are emphasized more than ideas themselves. The fourth stage, requires students to choose
from the type of writing tasks and prove their competency in the use of vocabulary, grammar and
language structure.
The Process approach on the other hand, focuses more on the steps that lead to the composition
of a piece of writing and helps in developing better language use. This approach has eight stages:
in the first stage as a pre-writing activity, students bring out their ideas by brainstorming in a
group or alone. In the second stage the students note down their ideas after discussing their
relevance to a particular given topic. In the third stage, they sort their ideas in an orderly manner,
by keeping in mind any links between the ideas. In the fourth stage students write a rough draft
in a group. The fifth stage is where students’ rough draft is reviewed and feedback is provided by
their classmates and this in turn will help individual students to correct their own drafts. In the
sixth stage, the draft is edited, and corrections are made to the draft, this stage may recur through
the whole writing process. In the seventh stage, students write the final draft. In the eighth stage,
the teacher evaluates and gives feedback to the students’ writings. This approach allows the
students to keep in mind about the audience of their writing.
According to Hasan and Akhand (2010), most schools under S.S.C and H.S.C boards introduced
the Communicative approach where teacher student interaction is vital to learning English. But
lack of training on the teachers’ part makes them revert to using the old Grammar Translation
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method, where grammar rules are taught and students are tasked with translating sentences
between their mother tongue and the target language.
A qualitative study using interview and class observation by Setyono (2014), on the types of
approaches used to teach writing by 3 secondary school English teachers in Indonesia found that
teachers use the product approach to both teach and provide feedback. All 3 teachers followed
the prewriting stage where they activated the schema of the students, the drafting stage where
students wrote and finally the feedback stage. In providing their feedback all 3 teachers only
gave feedback based on students’ written sample and used formative tests to assess the
competence of their use of the four language skills, where writing was assessed indirectly by
asking students to rearrange sentences, fill in the gaps in words and match pictures with texts.
According to a mixed-method study by Chakraborty (2012), to explore the current status of free
writing and teaching methods in 5 Bangla medium Schools in Dhaka, found contrasting pictures
between class observations and student and teachers’ interviews with regards to writing.
Classroom observation revealed that teachers do not use process approach to writing but some
said they did, they only provide feedback with regards to grammar, teaching and learning is
exam-oriented as essay topics in exam tend to be from within their books, which encourages
memorization of model texts hindering students’ creative thinking. Students do not work in
groups and do not share their writing due to competitiveness, and they try to complete their
writing in one go. Time constraints, large class, lack of students’ motivation in class, their lack of
knowledge about grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation, and predictable question
pattern in exam provided impediments to teach the process approach.
A qualitative study was carried out by Sadia (2019), through interviews, class observations,
evaluation of students’ exam scripts and surprise tests, on 3 Bangla Medium Schools in a small
town in Bangladesh on teachers’ methods of teaching writing and its impacts on students’
writing skills. Checking of students’ exam scripts and surprise tests found emphasis on the
quantity of words and pages written instead of proper organization and cohesion of ideas into
paragraphs, similar answers, grammatical errors, and poor vocabulary were problems found in
students’ writing. Reasons behind the challenges students face included, attitudes of parents and
older teachers who paid more attention to grades than content, Bangla used as the mode of
instruction, lack of proper seating arrangement hindered group work, lack of teaching materials
and training of teachers in various writing approaches as most use the memorization of
grammatical structures and essays as a means of teaching writing, hesitation of students to
improve writing skills due to hostile environment in classrooms where teacher controls the
students thoughts and ways of writings, students’ reliance on guidebooks and coaching centers.
Comparative analysis between 4 Bangla medium schools and 1 English Medium school on the
teaching methods and students’ writing skills was carried out by Ferdousi (2017), through class
observations, evaluation of students’ writing skills using surprise test, and interviews from
teachers and students. Results showed that classrooms were teacher-oriented in Bangla medium
schools, class discussions were participated by the front row students only, students discussed in
L1 their native language mostly, only one class was dedicated for English in a week, teacher
followed NCTB (National Curriculum and Textbook Board) books to assign topics, but in the
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English medium school, classrooms were student-oriented, all students actively participated in
class discussions and they spoke fluently in L2 or second language, except Bangla all other
subjects were taught in English, and teachers had freedom to assign topics. When surprise tests
were checked it was found that Bangla medium students provided mechanical, bookish opening
sentences which had little relation to the topic assigned, lacked vocabulary, organization and
cohesion of ideas, the exact opposite picture was observed in the essays of English medium
students. This implicitly showed that teachers in English Medium School encourage creativity
using product approach whereas in Bangla Medium Schools the national curriculum is followed
and neither product nor process approach was used.
A study by Mahmud (2017) on the needs analysis to improve secondary students’ writing skills
found that there was no access to multimedia facilities in Bangla Medium Schools. Similarly,
Sadia (2019), found that access to multimedia facilities is limited in outer parts of Dhaka. And in
the wake of covid-19 pandemic, most schools could start online classes through Zoom or Google
Meet on a limited scale after lockdown was imposed to contain the virus spread (Sultana, 2020).
Gradually however, the public and private schools coped up, as teachers started using real-time
interactive classes, pre-recorded videos, and assignment based classes on a small scale. But less
access to internet in rural areas and instability of internet connection, makes this approach
exclusive to those in Dhaka and those with a strong socio-economic background. And according
to UNICEF survey, only 50% students have television. Moreover, the television classes do not
provide a two-way interaction that physical classrooms did (Hasan, 2020). In addition to that,
online classes pose the problem of providing feedback to students’ assignments, as mentioned by
an English Medium School teacher in Dhaka (Sultana, 2020).
Jun and Lee (2012), carried out a study, on the perception and challenges of an online writing
unit designed to teach compare and contrast essays being trialed in EFL writing classes using
process writing approach for international students in a US university. The unit used message
boards for feedback and online discussion, and instructions on tasks were posted on the website.
Other “migrated” (Warnock, 2009, as cited in Jun and Lee, 2012), features included availability
of audio lectures and presentations, forum discussions and online consultation hours. Students
followed the steps of process writing approach with the help of several instructions posted on the
website and had to spend 4-5 hours per week engaging with online learning. Problems faced by
students include, the lack of teacher-student interaction which made it difficult to receive instant
answers to their queries and instructions on certain tasks were not clear. While teachers faced
difficulty in providing feedbacks and setting assignments.
Another study by Wijeyewardene et al., (2013) outlines the strategies used by a program called
The Pathways Enabling Course in the University of New England (UNE) to teach academic
writing online to students using their Moodle, a learning management system, along with other
multimedia tools. Foundation 101 and Foundation 102 are the courses taught online through this
program and which focus on genre approach to writing, the courses introduce students to various
forms of texts and highlight specific features of each genre of text. Notable multimedia tools
included: database tool, YouTube videos, pdf documents, Turnitin and Grademark.
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The program takes into account the issue of students with varying knowledge about technology
and engages them in completing tasks for which they would have to use the online tools. They
can seek help from their peers or the IT office. The flash technology helps students identify the
main features of an essay so that students find it easy to write on their own. Online discussion
forums provide students with articles on a topic for example, climate change and then would
provide them with an article by a climate change doubter. A set of questions guide them to
comment on the texts and identify the argument, and examine the linguistic features. Another
tool is the “database” tool, which permits students to upload their work and be marked by a tool
called the marker which has in-built features like strikethrough, and various colors to highlight
mistakes and correct them, this marker can be customized by the teachers. The marker may also
instruct students to submit a corrected version of their paragraph if necessary, to make students
aware of the drafting and editing process in writing. Students’ final essays are marked online via
Grademark which has more features than the marker. Although the constant task of writing,
redrafting and marking might be stressful for teachers, it will help students be engaged and not
feel a sense of desolation and detachment due to the online learning environment.

Therefore, the literatures used outlines, the different approaches, particularly the product and
process approach to writing in context to Indonesian schools and various Bangla medium schools
in Bangladesh. However, there has been little research on the problems in teaching and learning
writing in English medium schools online. Therefore, with the help of existing framework
provided by research on online courses, this study will conduct a qualitative research to explore
the approach in teaching writing in an English Medium School, using the parameters of product
and process approach. The research will also look into the efficiency of the approach used in
teaching writing online based on teachers and students opinions and provide solutions to help
alleviate problems in an online environment.
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Methodology
This research will use Product and Process Approaches to study the teachers’ methods of
teaching in online classrooms in an English Medium School. Additionally, the research will also
look into the effectiveness of the approach used in the online classroom from teachers’ and
students’ point of view. While Product Approach to writing provides students with a model text
which they are instructed to follow to develop their own piece of writing. Process Approach to
writing is a step by step process that develops students’ knowledge about the use of language and
produce their own writing without help from model texts, through brainstorming, group work
and redrafting their writing (Hasan and Akhand, 2010).
This research will use qualitative method. In the qualitative method, the data will be collected
using interviews of teachers to explore the reason behind their preferred writing approach and
students’ interviews will be used to assess how the particular approach affects their second
language writing and if the knowledge of technology gets in the way of both groups with regards
to second language writing online. The qualitative method will be used in two ways to collect
data: interviews with students and teachers regarding their views about the writing approach used
in the classroom and also by observing students’ and teachers’ interactions for one month
through the online web portal of the school, to validate the teachers’ and students’ claims in
interviews regarding the writing approach. Below a conceptual framework is given for better
understanding:

Teaching and learning writing online

Theories/Approaches used Sources of data Students’

essays

Students’ Classroom
Process Approach Product Approach Teachers’
interviews Observation
interviews

To find out

Writing approach used in

online class

Teachers’ reason for preference of a

particular writing approach
Students’ perspective of that approach
How both groups’ knowledge of
technology affects the effectiveness of
that writing approach
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Fig: 1. Conceptual Framework adapted from Fatima Othman Al-Hammadi (2017)

The data collection will involve taking interviews of 7 male students and 7 female students
within the age 12-14. In addition, 4 English Language teachers will also be interviewed. Their
interviews will be recorded with their consent, using the consent forms developed by the
researcher. The interviews will be collected through phone conversations, and after being
recorded, it will be transcribed. Phone conversations will be used instead of face-to-face
conversations due to the current rule of social distancing in place, caused by pandemic. The
teachers will also be interviewed about the approach they use to teach writing, and their reasons
for the preference and how the approach helps them achieve learners’ outcome. The students will
be asked questions based on their experiences in learning writing online (such as the approach
used to teach them writing, what problems they face in learning the approach, how they apply the
approach, etc.). The students’ answers will be used to validate the teachers’ claims of the writing
approach used in the class. Both groups will be interviewed about their academic background
and their access to technology to assess their knowledge about using technology (e.g. using web
browser, Microsoft Word, etc.) and whether it causes problems in teaching and learning the
writing approach. A sample of the questions are given in the appendices attached in pages 15-20.
Students’ checked essay writing samples will be used to assess on which areas teachers focus
more on while checking- the structure and coherence of ideas or grammar and vocabulary. In
addition students’ writing samples will further be assessed for evidence of drafting, redrafting,
topic sentences, supporting details, thesis statement, proper grammar and vocabulary. The month
long non-participant classroom observations from the school’s web portal will be used to note
down any anomaly in information provided by either students or teachers in their interviews.
Finally, using relevant literatures and teachers’ and students’ suggestions, solutions to improve
teaching and learning writing online will be provided.
Therefore, the aim of this study to investigate the writing approach used in an online classroom,
the teachers’ reasons for the preference and students’ difficulties in applying the approach will be
fulfilled. In addition, the results from the study will provide valuable insights into the connection
between the participants’ knowledge of technology and the ease/difficulty in teaching and
learning a particular writing approach.
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Ethical considerations
The researcher will keep the name of the participants and the school confidential, throughout the
whole research. Before recording interviews, permission will be sought, and for student
participants their parents will fill in the consent form on behalf of them, as they are minors
(below 18) and teacher participants will be asked to fill a different consent form developed by
the researcher. Prospective consent forms are provided in the appendix in pages 21-23. All the
past research and relevant literatures used for this research will be referenced properly. The data
collected will not be altered in any way, in order to ensure credibility of the information.
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Gantt Chart
W E E K S

Activities 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1. Develop interview
questions X
2. Identify the X
participants

3. Set appointments X

4. Take the sign of X

teachers in the consent
form
5. Conduct the X
interviews of teachers
6. Take the sign of the X
parents in the consent
form on behalf of the
students
7. Conduct the X
interviews of students
8. Transcribe the data X
9. Observe the X X X X
classroom and note
down any anomaly in
interviews
10. Collect students’ X
essays
11. Analyze the X X
interviews, notes from
classroom observation
and students’ essays
12. Prepare the draft X X
research report

13. Submit the draft X

research report

14. Submit the final X

research report

Conclusion
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Writing, for second language learners is a tough skill to master. Even more so for Bangladeshi
school students, due to various factors that have to do with the school curriculum, teaching
methods of teachers and attitude of students towards learning writing. Various writing
approaches are employed by teachers including the older approaches of Old Grammar
Translation, to the new approaches of Product Approach. And the Covid-19 of 2020, has
upgraded the difficulty even more, where face-to-face interactions have ceased to exist and
online learning is the new norm. Schools had a hard time adjusting and that includes teachers and
students. While, there have been research about teaching writing but few have opted to research
on the online teaching, especially in context to Bangladesh and even less in English Medium
context.
Therefore, the main motive of this research will be to use the parameters of Product and Process
Approach to look into the writing approach used to teach writing online in an English Medium
School, and how much does this approach fulfil learners’ outcome in an online environment and
the problems encountered by teachers and students alike with regards to second language writing
online. This research will also contribute in coming up with solutions that could be used to solve
those problems and will in turn benefit educators and learners seeking to improve their
experience of online education in terms of second language writing.
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Appendix 1: Questionnaire for the interview

Questionnaire on the writing approach in online class (For Teachers)
Each interview session will take 15 minutes. There will be 4 participants from the teachers.
Consent forms will be signed by all participants.
PRODUCT APPROACH/ PROCESS APPROACH
1. How do you lead in your students to a writing task?
a) Provide a model text
b) Give a topic and ask students to brainstorm
2. If you use a model text what features do you focus more on? Why do you focus on that
particular feature?
a) Grammar
b) Vocabulary
c) Coherence of ideas
d) Other
3. What do you focus more on while teaching students about ideas used in a piece of writing?
a) Organization of ideas
b) The content of the ideas
c) Other
4. Is there a particular type of writing (essays, letters, diary writing) that students must do or they
are independent to choose? Why or why not?
5. Does the online environment provide impediments to receiving students’ queries? How?
6. Does the online environment allow you to give students real time feedback to their writing?
How?
7. Is the online platform an impediment to teaching students writing by making them write a
rough draft? Why?
8. Is the online platform an impediment for group work? Why or why not?
9. Do you prefer students complete their writing and submit their finished product or do you
prefer helping them develop their ideas, structuring the ideas, making them write a draft, work in
groups as they submit the final draft then? Why?
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Appendix 1: Questionnaire for the interview (contd.)

ESSAY STRUCTURE
1. While teaching students on the structure of narrative essays, how do you teach them about
introduction, body and conclusion?
a) Introduction- topic sentence, supporting details, thesis statement
b) Body- elaborate the thesis statement
c) Conclusion- round up the arguments
2. What features do you focus on when you check students’ essays?
a) Grammar
b) Vocabulary
c) Content of ideas
d) Coherence of ideas
e) Other
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Appendix 2: Questionnaire for the interview

Questionnaire on the writing approach in online class (For Students)
Each interview session will take 15 minutes. There will be 14 participants from the students, 7
male students and 7 female students within the age of 12-14. Consent forms will be signed by the
parents of the participants, since the participants are minors.
PRODUCT APPROACH/ PROCESS APPROACH
1. How does your teacher lead you to a writing task?
c) Provide a model text
d) Give a topic and ask students to brainstorm
2. If model text is used what features does your teacher focus more on? Why do you think they
focus on that particular feature?
e) Grammar
f) Vocabulary
g) Coherence of ideas
h) Other
3. What does your teacher focus more on while teaching about ideas used in a piece of writing?
d) Organization of ideas
e) The content of the ideas
f) Other
4. Is there a particular type of writing (essays, letters, diary writing) that you must do or are you
independent to choose? Why or why not?
5. Does the online environment provide impediments to asking teachers’ questions? How?
6. Does the online environment allow you to receive real time feedback to your writing? How?
7. Is the online platform an impediment to learning writing for e.g. when you write a rough draft?
Why?
8. Is the online platform an impediment for group work? Why or why not?
9. How do you prepare before writing? Do you brainstorm or do you start writing whatever
comes to mind?
10. What problems do you face while learning writing and essay structure online?
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Appendix 2: Questionnaire for the interview (contd.)

ESSAY STRUCTURE
1. How does you teacher teach you about introduction, body and conclusion, online?
d) Introduction- topic sentence, supporting details, thesis statement
e) Body- elaborate the thesis statement
f) Conclusion- round up the arguments
2. What features does your teacher focus on when they check your essays? What do they
comment most on?
f) Grammar
g) Vocabulary
h) Content of ideas
i) Coherence of ideas
j) Other
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Appendix 3: Questionnaire for the interview

Questionnaire on participants’ background, access to technology and knowledge about
technology (For Teachers and students)
Each interview will take 10 minutes. There will be 4 participants from the teachers, 7 male
students and 7 female students of age 12-14. Consent forms will be signed by the parents of the
participants, since the participants are minors and teachers will sign a different consent form.
Questions about students’ background
1. Gender  male female
2. What is your age?
3. When did you enroll in an English Medium School?
4. What is the first language you speak at home?
Questions about teachers’ background
1. Gender  male female
2. What is your age?
3. What is your academic qualification?
4. What is the first language you speak at home?
Questions on access to technology and knowledge about it getting in the way of teaching
writing (for teachers)
1. What type of internet do you use at home?
2. What type of skills do you have with regards to using technology? What made you learn
them?
a) Use the web browser
b) Use Microsoft Word
c) Other
3. What difficulties do you face when it comes to operating with technology while teaching
writing? Why or why not?
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Appendix 3: Questionnaire for the interview (contd.)

Questions on access to technology and knowledge about it getting in the way of learning
writing (for students)
1. What type of internet do you use at home?
2. What type of skills do you have with regards to using technology? What made you learn
them?
a) Use the web browser
b) Use Microsoft Word
c) Other
3. What difficulties do you face when it comes to operating with technology while learning
writing? Why or why not?
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Appendix 4: Parental Permission form (for students)

Parental Permission Form Involving a Minor
for participating in a research on
Teaching and Learning Writing During Covid-19: A Case Study on an English Medium School

Your permission is being requested to have your child take part in a research conducted by
Umme Hani Anika, who is an undergraduate student at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh.
The research aims to learn about the writing approach followed in an English Medium School
while teaching online and its effectiveness in an online environment.

 Your child will be interviewed on his/her thoughts and challenges about learning writing
online. Their essays from school will also be analyzed to understand the type of writing
approach used and the way essays are structured. Their interviews will be recorded and
the recording will only be used to understand their difficulties in learning writing online
and will not be used for any other purpose.
 There are no risks associated with this study and no future risks to you or your child.
Although the discomfort of the child during the interview will be given priority.
 There is no direct benefit or incentives for your child for participation. But the results of
this research, will contribute to the broadening the researcher’s knowledge about the type
of writing approach followed in an English Medium School while teaching writing online
and the various difficulties faced by students in this regard.
 The study will be conducted in two interview sessions which will not exceed more than
15 minutes each.
 All the information of this research will be kept confidential and will only be available to
the researcher. When the information of this research is presented, it will be done so in a
group form, children’s response will not be associated with their names.
 The participation of your child in this study is voluntary. It is advised that this letter be
read out to your child and he/she is informed that their participation is voluntary. The
researcher will also remind your child about this during the research.
 If at any point of the study, you or your child wish to withdraw from the study, the choice
will be respected and the researcher will comply.
 You can contact the researcher at any of the study to ask questions or voice concerns
regarding the participation of your child in the research.
 A copy of this form will be given to you and another copy will be kept by the researcher.
 22

Parents’ Statement
I _______________, the parent of _________, a minor ____ years of age, am allowing
his/her participation in the research named above. I understand all the conditions of the
study as have been explained by the researcher and I give my consent voluntarily.

_____________ ___________
Parents’ Signature Date
Students’ Statement
I ______________ wish to participate in the research named above and understand that
my participation is voluntary.
______________ ____________
Students’ Signature Date

Adapted from Le Moyne College (1946)

 23

Appendix 4: Consent form (For teachers)

Consent Form
for participation in the research of
Teaching and Learning Writing During Covid-19: A Case Study on an English Medium School

I am willingly volunteering to participate in a research conducted by Umme Hani Anika, an

undergraduate student of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. The research aims to learn
about the writing approach followed in an English Medium School while teaching online and its
effectiveness in an online environment.

 I will answer the questions asked by the researcher regarding the writing approach used to
teach writing online and its effectiveness in the new online platform.
 I acknowledge that I will not receive any incentives/benefits for my participation in the
research, and I have the right to terminate my participation at any point of the study, without
any penalty.
 My identity will be kept confidential throughout the study and also after the study is
complete. If required, the researcher will either present my information in a group form or
use a pseudonym instead of my real name.
 The recorded data from my participation will only be used for the purpose of this research
and not for any other purpose.
 I can contact the researcher at any time during the research to ask about any questions,
including voicing concerns about my participation in this research.
 A copy of this consent form will be given to me and another copy will be kept by the
researcher.
 I understand all of the above mentioned conditions as explained by the researcher and
consent to voluntarily participate in this research.

Participants’ Consent Statement

I _______________, a teacher of a school of ______ age, have agreed to participate in the

research named above and understand that my participation is voluntary.

________________ _________

Participants’ Signature Date

 24

Adapted from Anglia Ruskin University (n.d.)

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