scholarly journals The relationship between writing anxiety, writing selfefficacy, and Spanish EFL students’ use of metacognitive writing strategies: a case study

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Aula Blasco
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Writing Strategies ◽  
Think Aloud ◽  
Writing Anxiety ◽  
Written Text ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Efl Students

The composing process of a written text is one of the most challenging tasks encountered by foreign language learners. Mastering writing depends on numerous aspects, being the use of metacognitive writing strategies a paramount factor in the process. However, writing metacognition is not isolated from other factors, and emotional constructs have a deep influence both on the use of strategies and on the final written outcome. In this article, a case study is undertaken among six upper-secondary-school Spanish EFL students in order to explore, identify, and analyze the unique relationships existing between the use of metacognitive writing strategies, writing anxiety and writing self-efficacy, observing also how these three factors influence students’ writing performance. To do so, participants were invited to take part in a think-aloud protocol while writing a text in English. Results were cross-validated with students’ completion of a questionnaire designed drawing on previous literature (O’Neil and Abedi 1996; Cheng 2004; Jones 2008; Stewart et al. 2015; Ho 2016) to measure the three factors. Participants’ responses to both research instruments showed a positive correlation between writing metacognition and writing self-efficacy. On the other hand, these two factors were reported to be negatively correlated with students’ level of writing anxiety. Findings also suggest that think-aloud protocols might have flaws when measuring emotional constructs. Thus, EFL instruction should aim at reducing both personal and environmental factors that may cause writing anxiety and decrease learners’ self-efficacy, ultimately enhancing students’ writing skills.

scholarly journals The Role of Language Proficiency in Willingness to Communicate: A Case Study of Saudi EFL Learners

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan S. Alqurashi ◽  
Haitham A. Althubaiti
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Efl Students

This study’s principal aim revolves around expanding comprehension of the facets affecting people’s readiness to use foreign languages. To achieve that, the study investigates the various elements of verbal interaction between undergraduate English as a Foreign Language learners and their instructors in the classroom. Linguistic skills are of particular interest, especially their connection to learners’ readiness to speak during classes. The research aims to answer the question ‘How does language proficiency affect the willingness to communicate among Saudi EFL students in the classroom?’ Qualitative data was gathered through the implementation of a triangulation strategy that incorporated focus-group discussions and individual interviews. Moreover, the research takes inspiration from the work of MacIntyre (1994) and MacIntyre and Charos (1996), who focused on learners’ readiness to speak as the conceptual basis for their studies. The study shows that learners exhibit an unwillingness to speak in EFL settings due to perceived linguistic inadequacies, a limited lexicon and concerns that they may make mistakes when attempting to speak English, which would, in turn, prompt further misunderstandings. The study concludes with recommendations for further studies in similar institutions to investigate other factors that may influence students’ willingness to communicate.

scholarly journals The Role of Language Proficiency in Willingness to Communicate: A Case Study of Saudi EFL Learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 469-478
Author(s):  
Hassan S. Alqurashi ◽  
Haitham A. Althubaiti
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Efl Students

This study’s principal aim revolves around expanding comprehension of the facets affecting people’s readiness to use foreign languages. To achieve that, the study investigates the various elements of verbal interaction between undergraduate English as a Foreign Language learners and their instructors in the classroom. Linguistic skills are of particular interest, especially their connection to learners’ readiness to speak during classes. The research aims to answer the question ‘How does language proficiency affect the willingness to communicate among Saudi EFL students in the classroom?’ Qualitative data was gathered through the implementation of a triangulation strategy that incorporated focus-group discussions and individual interviews. Moreover, the research takes inspiration from the work of MacIntyre (1994) and MacIntyre and Charos (1996), who focused on learners’ readiness to speak as the conceptual basis for their studies. The study shows that learners exhibit an unwillingness to speak in EFL settings due to perceived linguistic inadequacies, a limited lexicon and concerns that they may make mistakes when attempting to speak English, which would, in turn, prompt further misunderstandings. The study concludes with recommendations for further studies in similar institutions to investigate other factors that may influence students’ willingness to communicate.

scholarly journals Factors affecting male and female Indonesian EFL students’ writing anxiety

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hairus Salikin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Writing Anxiety ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Anxiety Levels

This study is aimed at investigating the writing anxiety levels of foreign language learners and factors affecting the foreign language writing anxiety levels on the learners based on the gender variable. It applies close-ended questionnaires as instruments to collect the data, adopted from Cheng (2004) about Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI), and Causes of Writing Anxiety Inventory (CWAI) questionnaire adopted from Younas (2014). The results of the study show that Indonesian English learners suffered a mediocre level of English writing anxiety, especially cognitive anxiety as preference. In relation to gender, female students tend to have significantly higher anxiety level than male in terms of writing English compositions. The study reports that both male and female learners suffered from anxiety due to lack of linguistic competence.

A COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE FOR COMPREHENDING PARONYMS

2020 ◽  
pp. 104-110
Author(s):  
L.A. Furs ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Cognitive Perspective ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Evaluative Meaning ◽  
Study Support ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Given

Paronyms as words, derived from the same root, are an intriguing linguistic issue. The purpose of this article is to present a cognitive approach to revealing the difference in their usage so that foreign language learners and teachers, as well as translators can have a practical guide to avoid errors in using paronyms. We investigate Russian paronyms дружеский, дружественный, дружный ‘friendly’ from the cognitive perspective. This involves analysis of deeply embedded conceptual structure which shows the evaluative meaning, profiled by paronyms and evaluated objective features, profiled by nouns which go with the given paronyms. We present an empirical analysis to suggest that these paronyms are not interchangeable. The results of the case study support the proposed approach and show that the comprehension of confusable paronyms can be achieved through understanding cognitive structures which underlie their meaning. The study of conceptual features of both paronyms and nouns, which go with them, offers sufficient ground for comprehending differences in their usage. Another implication is related to practical issues of translation and methods of illustrating the given paronyms to learners of Russian as a foreign language.

scholarly journals The Relationship Between Writing Anxiety and Writing Self-Efficacy of Students Learning Turkish as a Foreign Language

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Ahmet BAŞKAN
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Anxiety Scale ◽  
Writing Anxiety ◽  
Screening Model ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
The Relationship

The study aimed to determine the relationship between writing anxiety and writing self-efficacy of students learning Turkish as a foreign language. The study sample consisted of 247 international students at B1 and B2 levels at the Turkish Education Application and Research Center of a foundation university. The Writing Anxiety Scale for Learners of Turkish as a Foreign Language, developed by Şen and Boylu (2017), was used to determine students’ writing anxiety. There were 13 items and two factors on the scale: Action-Oriented Anxiety and Environmental Oriented Anxiety. The Writing Self-Efficacy Scale for Turkish Students who Learn Turkish was developed by Büyükikiz (2012) to determine the students’ writing self-efficacy. This two-factor scale had 16 items and explained 56.85% of the variance. The research was designed based on the relational screening model. SPSS 21.0 package programs were used to analyze the data. The study results indicated a significant positive relationship between writing anxiety and writing self-efficacy of students who learned Turkish as a foreign language. Besides, there was no significant difference between the Turkish learners’ scores from the writing anxiety scale and their language level.

scholarly journals An investigation of scaffolded reading on EFL hypertext comprehension

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Fang Shang
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Multiple Resources ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Efl Students

<span lang="EN-US">With the rapid growth of computer technology, some printed texts are designed as hypertexts to help EFL (English as a foreign language) learners search for and process multiple resources in a timely manner for autonomous learning. T</span><span lang="EN-US">he purpose of this study was to</span><span lang="EN-US"> design a hypertext system and examine if a 14-week teacher-guided print-based and hypertext reading intervention might benefit non-traditional EFL students’ reading comprehension. Non-traditional EFL students are older students with greater work experience. The primary investigation finding revealed no significant difference in comprehension between the teacher-guided print-based and hypertext intervention conditions, though a significant mean improvement was found after hypertext learning. EFL learners’ attitudes also supported that both teacher-guided print-based and hypertext interventions merit reading comprehension performance. In addition, there appears to be a significantly strong and positive relationship between the perceived usefulness of hypertext reading and attempt of future hypertext use, suggesting that the majority of non-traditional EFL learners made a positive willingness and prediction to use the hypertext system in their future reading, but that the degree of usefulness of hypertext reading was not reliably predicted by their hypertext comprehension scores. Based on the investigation results, limitations and future research are discussed and presented.</span>

scholarly journals A case study of Readers Theatre in a primary Norwegian EFL class

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Myrset ◽  
Ion Drew
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Fairy Tales ◽  
Sixth Grade ◽  
Struggling Learners ◽  
Teacher Interviews ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Readers Theatre ◽  
Motivation And Confidence

This article presents research on a case study of the use of Readers Theatre (RT), a group reading aloud activity in which a text is divided into small segments, in a sixth grade English as a Foreign Language (EFL) class in Norway. A mixed ability class of 27 readers, divided into groups of five to six pupils, rehearsed and performed fairy tales adapted for RT. The aims were to find out how the teachers and pupils experienced RT and how it influenced the development of the pupils’ reading, motivation and confidence. Data collection was through two teacher interviews, post-project pupil journals, lesson observations and video recordings of the first rehearsals and performances of three of the groups. Gains were recorded in pupils’ pronunciation, word recognition and fluency, especially among the struggling learners in the class. Gains were also recorded in pupils’ motivation and confidence to read. Both the cognitive and affective gains support research on RT among young learners in first language contexts and add to the sparse research on RT among young foreign language learners.

scholarly journals Developing Students’ Intercultural Competence among Moroccan EFL students: Focus on raising their Cross-cultural Awareness

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-56
Author(s):  
Driss Benattabou
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Communication Course ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Deep Culture ◽  
Efl Students

         The goal of this paper is to consider alternative ways to incorporate an intercultural communication course as an integral part of the curriculum designed for Moroccan learners of EFL. Some aspects of what comes to be dubbed as ‘deep culture’ should find room in the contents of the EFL course so as to alert Moroccan learners about the potential intercultural barriers they are far more likely to face. It is proposed that for an effective intercultural communication to take place, the English course should help foreign language learners explicitly understand what target linguistic forms might be and how their meanings may differ across cultures. The analysis of some instances of intercultural misunderstandings may surely give more credence to the vital importance of implementing a multicultural approach to education. This paper offers some teaching strategies to assist Moroccan learners of EFL overcome these intercultural barriers.

scholarly journals Using Tongue Twister to Improve Students’ Pronunciation

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-115
Author(s):  
Dewi Lutfiani
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Correct Pronunciation ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Tongue Twister ◽  
Basic Ability ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Teaching Pronunciation

peaking skill comprises five components; pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar,fluency and accuracy, which are very essential in delivering messages orinformation clearly. As one of the five components of speaking, pronunciationis an essential component in oral communication and a basic ability of speakingEnglish. Since English is a foreign language, correct pronunciation becomesa crucial matter to avoid misunderstanding between a speaker and a listener.Therefore, teaching pronunciation to EFL students is very essential, and it is notan easy task for English teachers. The main reason is that English pronunciationis difficult for most foreign language learners since what is written is differentfrom what is spoken. Regarding the difficulty of the students, teachers shouldbe creative to select a technique of teaching pronunciation. One techniquethat is suitable for teaching pronunciation is tongue twister. This techniquewas applied to the eleventh grade of SMA Muhammadiyah 3 Jember in the2015/2016 academic year. The results of the classroom action research whichwas done in two cycles showed 77.14% students got score ≥75 and 77.13% ofthe students were active in teaching learning process. The results had met thecriteria of success of the research.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document