Stimulating Students’ Autonomy in Writing through Weekly Reports (pre experimental)

There are four skills need to be mastered in language learning. Those are listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Writing as a productive skill plays important role in communication since not all the language users can express their idea orally. Nunan (1991: 35) states that all children, except those with physiological disabilities, learn to comprehend and speak their native language. Not all of them learn to read. Fewer still learn how to write fluently and legibly. That is why, students have to be taught how to write effectively.

However, writing for most of language learners is one skill of language that is difficult to learn. According to Byrne in Basiru (2005), there are two causes for this. The first is psychological problem. In writing, we are required to write on our own without any possibility of interaction or the benefit of feedback. This is itself makes the act of writing difficult. The other factor is cognitive problem.  To make good writing that can be understood well by the reader, we need to master the written form of language, such as the use of cohesion, punctuation, organizing idea, etc.

Even though writing is difficult, like the other skills it is also can  be learned. By applying good teaching technique, teacher can help students to be good writer. Nevertheless, applying a good technique in teaching writing does not always show success. Some students are just motivated to study under the teacher guidance.  It becomes a problem because frequently writing is relegated to the status of homework (Harmer, 1991: 24).