Difficulties Faced By Students While Writing Discourses like

Newspaper Reports

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the present study is to find the difficulties faced by students during
discourse writing, particularly newspaper reports in relation to language learning.
The methodology used for the study was a survey and the tool used was a close-
ended questionnaire. A percentage analysis was done and the findings were
deducted. The present study showed that learners were unaware about the various
aspects of writing a newspaper report. Training was provided by the investigator
with regard to the elements of preparing a newspaper report.

Key words: Newspaper report.

INTRODUCTION

Teaching English as a second language calls for the attention of teachers with
involvement, dedication and love for children. Language learning involves linking
four skills- listening, speaking, reading and writing. Teaching is an art and every
teacher has a personal style and specific belief. To fulfill this, NCF 2005
introduced Discourse Oriented Pedagogy which makes the teachers to improve
his/her teaching skills for the students. To help him or her, the present high schools
are prepared with Discourse Oriented Pedagogy which is a part and parcel of
constructivism.

Language is a means of communication. It is a system with its own rules and

conventions. It enables us to make sense of our identity and the larger world
around us. Language learning involves cognitive and effective engagement.
Language use is guided by our awareness of the purpose, audience, context and
culture in which it is used.

Language exists in different forms- songs, dialogues, poems, descriptions, plays,

stories, letters etc. these are in discourse / situations. A discourse means connected
language in speech or writing. If a teacher provides teaching learning experiences
to his / her pupils, his / her teaching may be called discourse oriented teaching or
pedagogy. The discourse oriented teaching is in accordance with the constructivist
pedagogy suggested in the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005. Learners
can construct new knowledge from the concepts they already know from their life
or from the radio, T.V, print media, electronic media etc.

NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Behind the classroom door, the key factor in the success of a lesson in determining
whether the students actually learn something that matters which is the creative
ability of the teachers and their ability to combine theory and practical classroom
experience. Theory lone will not result in effective teaching. Nor will practice a
lone result in truly excellent teachers engaging in the learning process.

Effective teaching therefore involves the practical application of new research or

theory in a classroom environment. In order to find out the extent to which the
students have understood a taught material, survey can be done. It can also be
made use of to find out the pre-requisites of the learners before starting new lesson
or portion.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The title of the study is Difficulties Faced by Students While Writing Discourses
like Newspaper Reports.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the present survey are as follows:

To find whether the students have awareness about writing discourses like
newspaper report.
To provide practice to the students in writing discourses like newspaper
reports.
To develop a sense of responsibility to be of service to the community

HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY

The students are unfamiliar with the discourse of writing newspaper reports.
The students are unaware of the different terms associated with writing news
reports.
 The students do not know how to incorporate them in a news report.

METHODOLOGY

The methodology used in the present study is a survey.

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

Tool

In the present survey, the tool used is a questionnaire containing 10 questions to

check the awareness of the students regarding the procedure of writing a
newspaper report. Each question is designed by the investigator to elicit the
previous knowledge of the student regarding the writing of a newspaper report.

Procedure

Close-ended questionnaire was prepared by the investigator to conduct the survey.

For the implementation of the questionnaire, the investigator selected the students
of St. Josephs Childrens Home, Kanjikuzhi, Kottayam on 4th November, 2015.
The whole class went there as a team. Two groups of ten students were assigned to
conduct the survey. After creating a rapport with the students, the investigator
provided the students with the questionnaire and collected the data about their
knowledge regarding the discourse of writing newspaper reports.

Immediately after evaluating the pre-requisites of the learners, the investigator

provided the learners with a training session regarding the procedure to be
followed to write a newspaper report. The investigator also acquainted the students
with the actual newspaper report and provided it as an example for their individual
attempt of writing a newspaper report. A format for writing the discourse as
prepared by the investigator on a chart paper was also presented before the
students.

ANALYSIS and INTERPRETATION

The analysis of the survey is enumerated as follows:

Sl.N Questions Percentage
o
1 Students interested in reading newspaper reading. 100%
2 Students who read newspapers daily 10%
3 Students who know how to write a news report 5%
4 Students who know the steps of writing a news report 0%
5 Students who scan newspaper for headlines 80%
6 Students who are aware of the features of a headline 10%
7 Students who know what a byline is 0%
8 Students who know what a lead is 0%
9 Students who know the components of a news body 0%
10 Students who know how to incorporate quotations in a news 0%
body

In the study, it was found that all of the students were interested in reading
newspaper but only 10% of the students were daily readers. Only 5% of students
knew how to write a news report. None of the students were familiar with the
terms associated with writing newspaper reports.

MAJOR FINDING

According to the survey report, a majority of the students are acquainted with news
reports, but are unaware of the method and criteria to prepare a good news report.
They are interested to read newspapers but still then, only a few are daily readers.

Coming to the different aspects of news report writing, none of the students are
familiar with criteria and terms such as byline, lead etc. From the discussion after
the conduct of the survey the investigator understood that all are interested to study
more about writing newspaper reports.

RECOMMENDATIONS OR EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

Teachers should make the students familiar with the details behind
newspaper report writing.
Teachers can include discourse writing as a regular practice.
CONCLUSION

The survey report showed an immediate urgency to provide the learners with
training in writing a good newspaper report. The investigator provided them with a
training session giving ample importance to make them aware the byline, lead etc
in a news report. The investigator also stressed the headline, its features, its
importance, place line, body of the news item and also how to incorporate
quotations in the body. To make them understand and comprehend clearly, the
investigator gave them an example of a news report from The Hindu and thus
concluded the class after verifying that they had understood how to prepare a
newspaper report on their own.

REFERENCE

http://study.com/academy/lesson/survey.study-definition-design-quiz.html

http://explore.com/types-of-survey

http://www.educ.ualberta.ca/css.css-40-1/ARStafford-educational-research-
history.html

http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-survey-research-definition-methods-
types.html