Interactive Writing as an Intervention to Develop English Writing Skills among Students with Hearing Impairment

Abstract

Students with hearing impairment often face significant challenges in developing English writing skills due to limited access to auditory language input and fewer opportunities for incidental language learning. This study investigated the effectiveness of the interactive writing approach as an instructional intervention to improve English writing skills among students with hearing impairment, using an ABA experimental design. The study was conducted in a special education setting and involved students with hearing impairment of primary level. The research design comprised three phases: baseline (A₁), intervention (B), and withdrawal (A₂). During the intervention phase, interactive writing sessions were systematically implemented to focus on vocabulary development, sentence construction, grammatical accuracy, punctuation, and organization of ideas. Students’ writing performance was assessed repeatedly across all phases using structured writing assessment tools. Data were analyzed using statistical methods and compared to assess performance trends across the baseline, intervention, and withdrawal phases. The findings revealed a noticeable improvement in students’ English writing skills during the intervention phase compared to the baseline phase, with partial maintenance of gains observed during the withdrawal phase. Improvements were evident in sentence structure, vocabulary use, grammatical accuracy, and overall coherence of written expression. The study concludes that interactive writing is an effective, evidence-based instructional strategy for enhancing English writing skills among students with hearing impairment. It is recommended that interactive writing be incorporated into English language instruction in special education classrooms to support inclusive and effective literacy development.