Improving essay writing under the competency-Based approach:The case of third year literature and foreign languages'learners at Jijel secondary schools

Abstract

The Competency- Based Approach (C. B. A.) is a new teaching approach which was adopted by the Algerian Educational system in 2003. It aims to enhance the learners’ competencies in order to use them in their real lives. Despite its importance, some Algerian secondary schools’ teachers fail to absorb real implementation of this new approach especially in teaching the writing skill; for it is amongst the important EFL skills in English education. The present study aims at improving essay writing on EFL learners under the Competency– Based Approach. In this research, we hypothesized that if the Algerian secondary schools’ EFL teachers know how to integrate useful strategies in teaching essay writing skills within C. B. A.; they will be able to promote pupils’ writing proficiency. In order to achieve the aforementioned aim, an observational study and two questionnaires have been used. Classroom observation took place at Darra Mohamed Essadek secondary school, and the questionnaires were administered to both teachers and pupils in three various secondary schools: Darra Mohamed Essadek, and Abd El Hamid Ibn Badis, and Mati Ahcen. The main purpose behind these questionnaires is to get teachers and learners’ perceptions about the implementation of C. B. A in teaching essay writing, as well as the main difficulties that both teachers and learners encountered when implementing the said approach. The results obtained showed that essay writing can be improved if C. B. A. is thoroughly implemented with its appropriate settings; however, there are some issues and difficulties that hinder EFL learners from developing their essay writing skills. These obstacles; namely, overcrowded classes, lack of authentic materials, insufficient time, and lack of teachers’ training must be seriously dealt with by policy- makers.