Examining the challenges experienced by trainee teachers in use of transitional devices to achieve cohesion in writing in St. Francis and St. Teresa’s Colleges of Education, Ghana
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##
Abstract
Transitional devices are crucial in achieving cohesion inwritten communication. This study was conducted to investigate the challenges trainee teachers experience with using these transitional devices to achieve cohesion in writing in St. Francis and St. Teresa’s Colleges of Education. The study used thematic analyses to examine data collected from two hundred and forty trainee teachers and eleven tutors from the two colleges using essays and semi-structured interviews. Sampling was done using simple random sampling and purposive technique to select the trainees and census sampling for the lecturers. The findings showed that the trainee teachers have problems with the use of transitional devices because they misplace the transitions, omit the transitions in certain instances, use nonstandard forms of the devices, wrongly spell the devices, and use them incorrectly in terms of grammar.
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.displayStats.downloads##
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This open-access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY-NC-SA) license.
You are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
No additional restrictions: You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
How to Cite
References
Aidinlou, N.A., & Reshadi, E. (2014). A comparative study of the use of conjunctions and references in electronic mails vs. paper-based letters. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 5(3), 611.
Allen, L.K., Mills, C., Jacovina, M.E., Crossley, S., D’mello, S. and McNamara, D.S., 2016, April. Investigating boredom and engagement during writing using multiple sources of information: the essay, the writer, and keystrokes. In Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge, 114-123.
Allen, L.K., Snow, E.L. and McNamara, D.S., 2016. The narrative waltz: The role of flexibility in writing proficiency. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(7), 911.
Andayani, P.O., Seken, I.K., & Marjohan, A. (2014). An Analysis of the Cohesion and Coherence of the Students’ Narrative Writings in SMP Negeri 2 Banjar. Journal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Indonesia, 2(1).
Anderson, C.E., González, C.A.M., & Medina, L.M.C. (2018). Graphic Organizers Support Young L2 Writers’ Argumentative Skills. GIST–Education and Learning Research Journal, (17), 6-33.
Astanti, R., Rozimela, Y., & Fitrawati, F. (2016). Cohesive devices in discussion text written by the students of sman 12 padang. Journal of English Language Teaching, 5(1), 32-39.
Charkitey, S. (2016). A Study of the Use of Conjunctions In Senior High School Students’ Essays in Ghana (Doctoral dissertation, University Of Ghana). Choi, Y. (1988). Text structure of Korean speakers’ argumentative essays in English. World Englishes, 7(2), 129-142.
Cumming, A., Lai, C. and Cho, H., 2016. Students’ writing from sources for academic purposes: A synthesis of recent research. Journal of English for Academic purposes, 23, 47-58.
Darweesh, A.D., & Kadhim, S.A.H. (2016). Iraqi EFL Learners’ Problems in Using Conjunctions as Cohesive Devices. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(11), 169-180.
Elahi, M., & Badeleh, M.T. (2013). A Contrastive Study on Transitional Markers in English Language Teaching Research Articles Written by English and Persian Academic Writers. Journal of Language Teaching & Research, 4(4).
Granger, S. & Tyson, S. (1996). Connector usage in the English essay writing of native and non-native EFL speakers of English. World Englishes, 15(1), 17-27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467971X.1996.tb00089.x
Halliday, M.A.K. and Hasan, R. 1976. Cohesion in English. London: Longman.
Hamed, M. (2014). Conjunctions in Argumentative Writing of Libyan Tertiary Students. English Language Teaching, 7(3), 108-120.
Hinkel, E. (2001): Matters of cohesion in L2 academic texts. Applied Language Learning. 12, 111. Retrieved from: http://elihinkel.org/downloads/cohesion.pdf.
Mackiewicz, J. and Thompson, I., 2018. Talk about writing: The tutoring strategies of experienced writing center tutors. Routledge.
Mahendra, M. W., & Dewi, N. P. R. P. (2017). The Use of Transition Signals in Efl Academic Writing Context: A Corpus Study. IAIN Tulungagung Research Collections, 9(1), 87-100.
Meisuo, Z. (2000). Cohesive features in the expository writing of undergraduates in two Chinese universities. RELC. https://doi.org/10.1177/003368820003100104
Meltzer, K., (2015). Journalistic concern about uncivil political talk in digital news media: Responsibility, credibility, and academic influence. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 20(1), 85-107.
Meyers, A. (2009). Writing with confidence (9th ed). USA: Person Education Inc.
Mohamed-Sayidina, A., 2010. Transfer of L1 cohesive devices and transition words into L2 academic texts: The case of Arab students. RELC Journal, 41(3), 253-266.
Mudhhi, S. K. & Hussein, R. F. (2014). A corpus-based study of conjunctive adjuncts in the writings of native and non-native speakers of English. English Linguistic Research, 3 (2)
Sattayatham, A. & Ratanapinyowong, P. (2008). Analysis of errors in paragraph writing in English by first year medical students from the four medical schools at Mahidol University. Silpakorn University International Journal, 8(3), 17-38.
Schleppegrell, M. (1996). Conjunction in spoken English and ESL writing. Applied Linguistics, 17, 271 –285.
Stifler, B. (2002). Rhetorical modes. Retrieved from http://users.cdc.net/~stifler/en110/modes.html.
Ward, J. H. (2012). Managing Data: Content Analysis Methodology. Unpublished manuscript. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Wikborg, E. (1990) Types of Coherence Breaks in Swedish Student Writing: Misleading Paragraph Division. In U. Connor and A. John (Eds), Coherence in Writing: Research and Pedagogical Perspective, 131- 149.
Zainal, Z. (2007). Case study as a research method. Journal Kemanusiaan, 5(1). Halliday and Hasan’s (1976) taxonomy of cohesive devices.