Abstract:
This study investigated motivational strategies used by English language teachers at Shebe and Seka
High Schools so as to help Grade 9 students develop writing skills. The study employed descriptive survey
design to obtain data. The study used comprehensive sampling method by taking 11 English language
teachers from the two schools and, using Simple Random sampling method drawing 234 samples from the
target schools. With the help of questionnaires for teachers and students, interview and classroom
observations, the researcher managed to collect data on the problem under investigation. Findings
clearly suggested that English language teachers’ teaching strategies in the two high schools could not
adequately help grade 9 students to develop their writing skills. The frequent use of motivational
strategies by English language teachers in the two target schools in their writing classrooms were
insignificant, non- comprehensive, not salient and abreast, yet without plan. The existing motivational
strategies, by far and large, could not show that the language teachers particularly at doing many
different things relevant for the students to practice and develop writing skills for their academic needs.
The English language teachers’ efforts did not show preparedness compared with the standard yardstick
to measure the attributes indispensably created to motivate the students learning writing. They do little to
get the students encouraged with positive beliefs about writing; fostered with insufficient and
incompatible authentic goals as well as contexts for writing; and creating a positive classroom
environment yet lacked persistence to affect students’ motivation to write. Their knowledge and
experience about motivation and the critical aspects of writing classroom motivational strategies were
facile, and at the paltry, having little value, supposed to bring robustness in the teaching – learning
process of the writing classrooms at the target schools. Scarcity of experience and paucity of strategyinformation were the leading factors that hindered the teachers’ efforts and effectiveness in the
application of motivational strategies in the writing classrooms.
