Second Language Writing Anxiety Research Articles

THE INFLUENCE OF SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING ANXIETY ON L2 POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ DISSERTATION WRITING: A MULTIPLE-CASE STUDY

Second language (L2) postgraduate students are susceptible to experience second language writing anxiety (SLWA) in dissertation writing as they tend to find the writing process arduous. SLWA relates to the recurring negative and anxious feeling when students write which could influence their cognition, behaviour, and physical condition. This reflects the interrelationship between individual’s affect and cognitive process and the negative correlation between SLWA and writing performance reported in past studies. However, more evidence is needed to establish SLWA as an independent construct that could directly affect writing performance. Therefore, this study aimed to explore how SLWA influences L2 postgraduate students’ dissertation writing to have a clearer insight into the phenomenon. This investigation utilised a multiple-case study approach involving four local postgraduate students. Data was obtained through in-depth interviews, audio journals, and personal document analysis. The thematic analysis revealed the following themes: SLWA i) influences emotional states; ii) triggers emotion regulation; and iii) initiates and sustains a debilitative or facilitative psychological loop that influences students’ progress in dissertation writing. Thus, the study posits SLWA as a construct that can directly debilitate writing performance and L2 dissertation writing as having affective costs that makes emotion regulation an important mechanism to restore student’s psychological balance. To overcome SLWA’s influences on dissertation writing, it is recommended that supervisors and language teachers discourage perception of writing inability, recognize writing improvement, identify writing competence, suggest specific solutions to resolve writing issues, and avoid manipulating anxiety to provoke writing performance.

Second Language Writing Anxiety among Faculty Scholars of a State University in the Philippines and Its Sex-Disaggregated Data

The study investigated the causes and the nature of writing anxiety specifically in the use of English as the second official language of the Philippines. Further, it accounted and analyzed its sex-disaggregated data. This was done among faculty scholars of Central Luzon State University. The respondents were randomly chosen from among the purposively identified faculty scholars of the university pursuing their graduate degrees - master’s and doctorate, in the different graduate curricular offerings in various universities in the Philippines and abroad, that require a thesis or dissertation as the final requirement for obtaining a graduate degree. The Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI) of Cheng (2004), a questionnaire composed of 22 items with three open-ended questions was used to collect responses. The responses were scored and measured on a five-point Likert response scale. The differences in Second Language Writing Anxiety (SLWA) between male and female participants were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney Test, which is ideal for analyzing statistically the difference between the distributions of data of unparalleled groups with the comparison of ranks and scores. Based on the study findings, the most prominent nature of SLWA among participants is cognitive anxiety. Other sources of anxiety include the availability of external and internal resources and environmental elements. In relation to sex, males scored higher in terms of the level of anxiety compared to females. Lastly, it is forwarded that educators and the pedagogical approach may utilize a positive feedback mechanism as negative evaluation promotes anxiety even in composing in a second language.

Understanding ESL Postgraduate Students’ Dissertation Writing Challenges: The Interplay Between Second Language Writing Anxiety and Writer’s Block

No matter how hard they try, some ESL postgraduate students experience periods when they can produce, if any, little writing. When such periods last for a considerable amount of time, the student is said to have a writer’s block (WB). Given the reciprocal connection between WB and second language writing anxiety (SLWA), more evidence is needed to determine the connection between the two factors in dissertation writing. Hence, this study aimed to investigate how challenges in second language (L2) postgraduate dissertation writing may heighten SLWA and WB, while also examining their interplay. In this mixed-method study, a total of 43 postgraduate students participated by completing an online survey to assess their levels of SLWA, while a subset of nine participants underwent semi-structured interviews. The thematic analysis revealed that WB stems from: i) SLWA experience; and ii) challenges in the writing process, research conceptualization, academic writing conventions, and academic reading. To overcome SLWA and WB, it is recommended that supervisors and language teachers provide specific suggestions to resolve writing issues, refrain from using anxiety to provoke performance, help break down the ultimate goal of dissertation writing into several obtainable goals, and foster open discussions about strategies for motivation and progress monitoring.

Understanding Chinese EFL learners' anxiety in second language writing for the sustainable development of writing skills.

To add to the currently limited research on the degree of cultural uniqueness of Chinese EFL learners' anxiety and the multidimensional nature of second language writing anxiety (SLWA), the present qualitative study used think-aloud protocol and interview to examine Chinese EFL learners' three dimensions of SLWA and the related variables, so as to probe into this problem that could pose an obstacle to sustainable second language writing. Findings showed that Chinese EFL learners experienced much Cognitive Anxiety, but relatively little Avoidance Behavior. Learner-internal, teacher-related, and human-external variables interacted with SLWA in a dynamic way. To a certain degree, Chinese EFL learners showcased uniqueness in some aspects of SLWA, under cultural influences, regarding ethnic culture, local culture, academic culture, and disciplinary culture.

Psychophysiological factors as predictors of second language writing achievement in a computer-based test.

Sleep quality, personality, and cognitive load potentially increase second language writing (SLW) anxiety and subsequently affect SLW achievement. This study investigates the predictions of sleep quality, personality (social inhibition/ negative affectivity), and cognitive load (content/ computer) toward SLW anxiety and achievement in a computer-based test. Participants included 172 voluntary undergraduates majoring in English as foreign language. SLW anxiety in a computer-based test, sleep disturbance, personality and cognitive load was assessed with the SLW Anxiety Inventory, Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, Type-D Personality, and cognitive load questionnaires. A structural equation modeling approach was applied to examine the interdependence among the observed variables. An adequate-fit SLW anxiety model was built (X2 = 6.37, df = 6, p = 0.383, NFI = 0.97, CFI = 1.00, RMSEA = 0.02; R-squared multiple correlations: SLW anxiety in a computer-based test = 0.19, computer-based SLW achievement = 0.07). The structural model showed that sleep disturbance (+0.17), social inhibition personality (+0.31), and computer-induced cognitive load (+0.16) were significant predictors of SLW anxiety in a computer-based test. Subsequently, SLW anxiety in a computer-based test (-0.16) and computer-induced cognitive load (-0.16) were significant negative predictors of computer-based SLW achievement.

English Language Writing Anxiety among Final Year Engineering Undergraduates in University Putra Malaysia

Second Language Writing Anxiety (SLWA) is considered one of the most crucial factors affecting all second language learning. This study focused on a group of final year Engineering students’ English Language writing anxiety (N=93) in relation to their gender, race and MUET results. The findings showed that the the male gender, Chinese and MUET band 4 participants faced higher levels of anxiety as compared to the other groups respectively. Somatic anxiety was recorded to be the highest subscale of anxiety faced by most of the participants. The findings of this study can help in making suitable amendments in the engineering programme course structure, especially in determining the suitable English papers to be offered to the students.