The Analysis of Elementary School Students’ Descriptive Writing Skills in EFL

Gayatri Nurnaningrum, Bachrudin Musthafa, Wahyu Sopandi, Atep Sujana, Indri Andriani Astuti

Abstract


This study examines the challenges elementary school students face in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) descriptive writing, a crucial skill often perceived as one of the most complex aspects of language learning. It was conducted on 39 fifth-grade public elementary school students in Pacet sub-district, Bandung Regency, to assess students’ writing abilities through test and non-test instruments. The research employed a descriptive methodology using purposive participant selection on the following criteria: schools that use the Independent curriculum, English is taught by a teacher who is a graduate of English education, and the school is one of the representatives of the sub-district, as determined by the elementary school supervisor. The tests evaluated key aspects of descriptive writing, including format and content, organization and coherence, and sentence construction and vocabulary, while structured questionnaires explored students' difficulties and influencing factors. The study aimed to identify the specific challenges students encounter in writing descriptive texts and uncover factors impacting their performance to inform the development of more effective instructional strategies. The findings show that many students struggle with content development, coherence, and grammar. Corpus analysis reveals frequent issues such as unclear phrasing, code-mixing, and overly brief, highlighting gaps in vocabulary use and sentence construction. Additionally, the questionnaire results revealed that a significant number of students encountered challenges in various aspects of descriptive writing, particularly in vocabulary use, grammar, sentence structure, and idea development. These findings underscore the need for targeted, collaborative, and technology-supported instructional strategies to address students’ specific difficulties and enhance their proficiency and confidence in English descriptive writing.

Keywords


Writing Skills; Elementary School; EFL; Descriptive Text; TEYL

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.53400/mimbar-sd.v12i2.87667

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