The Influence of Classroom Environments on English Language Writing Instruction and Learning

Writing is one of the four language skills. Writing plays a big role in helping individuals clarify their thoughts, to the nation for storing information and in the academic world for taking notes and expressing logical arguments. Unfortunately, society still complains that school leavers do not know how to write indicating that either they were not taught writing or that the classroom environments where they were taught were not adequate enough to prepare them for the kind of writing they would need after school. This paper explores the influence of classroom environments on the teaching and learning of writing in secondary schools. Using a qualitative multiple case study design, we collected data from three schools through lesson observation and interviewing teachers and learners. Data were analyzed according to the emerging themes which were; classroom displays, lighting, and air. Findings portrayed that there were different teaching and learning environments but the success of writing instruction depended on how teachers modified the classroom environments to suit the different topics they were teaching. Therefore, there is a need to maximize the classroom environments to enhance writing instruction and learning.