Writing Apprehension Test Research Articles

The validity and reliability of writing attitude scale for EFL learners in the Indonesian context

Having a positive attitude in writing is very important since the positive attitude will make the students approach writing in a good way and will enable them to finish the writing task well. Thus, an appropriate instrument to measure the writing attitude is needed. Yet, scarce research is dedicated to investigating the validity and reliability of the writing attitude scale. This research is intended to investigate the validity and reliability of the writing attitude scale adapted from Podsen (1997) which was originally developed from the Daly-Miller Writing Apprehension Test (Daly Miler, 1975b). The design of this study was an observational, non-experimental study with a cross-sectional design, in which the researchers focused on analyzing Podsen’s (1997) Writing Attitude Scale (WAS). The population of the study was 96 students who took the Essay Writing course in the English Department, at a public university in East Java. The data were in the form of numbers on an ordinal scale. The researchers used the Content Validity Ratio (CVR) to analyze the validity and Cronbach alpha to check the inter-item correlation coefficient in SPSS 25. The result of the study shows that the CVR analysis was 1, and all items in the questionnaire were valid (p=.000≤.000) as shown in the Pearson product-moment analysis. Secondly, the internal consistency of Podsen’s (1997) Writing Attitude Scale was high (r.877). This implies that the instrument is applicable because it possesses validity and is highly reliable in measuring students’ writing attitudes.

THE EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY-BASED TEACHING ON THE WRITING SKILLS OF EFL LEARNERS AT SSC LEVEL

Using computer technology in teaching L2 writing functions is not only a tool but also a part and parcel in generating and regenerating of knowledge. There is a developing need to examine different aspects involved in the use of technology. The impact of using technology in traditional pedagogical approaches especially of L2 writing learning seems a significant one. This research addresses the difficulties that EFL learners at SSC level face while writing. It also aims to shed light on the effect of using technology tools on students' motivation and attitudes when they learn a second language. According to the nature of research purposive sampling is selected. The sample of the study consists of 40 EFL learners at SSC level of a private school Aziz Fatima Educational Complex in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. Mixed ability EFL learners of equal writing proficiency are divided into two equal groups: a control group and an experimental group with 20 students each. Two research instruments are utilized in this research: Writing Performance Test and Writing Apprehension Test as pretest and posttest. Collected data is computed and analyzed via paired sample and independent sample t-tests through the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software (SPSS). The findings revealed the clear difference between the performances of the both groups. By integrating the modern technology into the ELT classrooms writing performance of the experimental group was significantly improved however their writing apprehension was considerably reduced. In the light of findings and experiences gained during this study some recommendations are offered for the new researchers. This quasi-experimental research is significant for the teachers also, as it explored new methods of developing writing skills that is always a challenge for the EFL learners.

The Effectiveness of Collaborative Writing Wiki in Developing EFL Writing Skills and Reducing Apprehension of Al Azhar Secondary Stage Students

This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of collaborative writing wiki in developing EFL writing skills and reducing apprehension of al Azhar secondary stage students. The study used certain instruments: an EFL writing skills questionnaire, an EFL writing pre-post-test, an EFL writing skills rubric, and an EFL writing apprehension inventory. The study came up with a number of results. The participants consisted of 60 first year Al-Azhar secondary stage students. They were divided into two groups; the control group which was instructed via traditional teaching method and the experimental group which was instructed via collaborative writing wiki. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the control group and the experimental group on the post applications of the EFL writing skill test in favor of the experimental group. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group pre and post applications of the EFL writing skill test in favor of the post application. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group and the control group on the post applications of the writing apprehension inventory in favor of the experimental group. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group pre and post applications of EFL writing apprehension test in favor of the post application. The study provided evidence for the effectiveness of using collaborative writing wiki in developing wringing skills and reducing writing apprehension.

Writing Apprehension Among English as a Foreign Language Postgraduate Students

Although many studies have investigated writing apprehension among students of different education levels during the last decades, several of its aspects have remained uninvestigated in different contexts. One of these contexts is North Cyprus. For this reason, this study aimed to measure the level of writing apprehension experienced by English as a foreign language (EFL) postgraduate students at this particular context when writing in English. The study also tried to explain whether variables such as age, gender, academic level, and socioeconomic status were correlated with writing apprehension. To achieve these aims, the researchers adopted Daly and Miller’s questionnaire called Writing Apprehension Test. A total of 37 EFL postgraduate students belonging to different ages, genders, academic levels, and socioeconomic statuses took part in the study. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS program to reveal whether there was a significant correlation between the aforementioned variables. Mean scores, standard deviations, Pearson correlation, frequencies, and percentages were employed to reveal the results. The study demonstrated that, though almost nearly half of the students were highly apprehensive, the majority of them experienced a moderate level of apprehension when writing in English and the relationship between writing apprehension levels and the variables was not statistically significant, that is, the results showed that age, gender, academic level, and socioeconomic status did not have any influence on writing apprehension.

Reducing Writing Apprehension in Undergraduate Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management Students

The quality of undergraduate student writing is cause for concern among academics and industry professionals alike. Because writing apprehension is thought to be a contributing factor in the current deficit of undergraduate writing proficiency, the Writing Apprehension Test (WAT) was administered to parks, recreation, and tourism students to determine change in self-reported levels of writing apprehension as a result of a writing intervention program. The writing intervention program centered on the use of graduate writing mentorship and scaffolded, authentic writing assignments. Differences in pre- and post-WAT scores indicated lowered levels of writing apprehension for the intervention group. Additional analyses were conducted by deconstructing items included in the WAT into four subsets (e.g., enjoyment of writing, confident in ability, self-esteem, evaluation of writing), furthering empirical research on the WAT itself. Findings suggest that mentorship and authentic writing assignments within the discipline may be a viable avenue for improvement in undergraduate writing ability.

Differences of Gender in Oral and Written Communication Apprehension of University Students

Oral and written skills are increasingly considered to be essential tools in the job market for the success of any worker, and are thus called soft skills. Nevertheless, most graduates who enter the labor market experience difficulties in the apprehension of communication, not only with regard to writing, but also in oral communication. These difficulties are also noticeable in the classroom, for instance when students need to participate by expressing their doubts when they have to present research work within the curricular units they attend, or when they have to write their answers in assessment tests. In this paper, we explore the communication skills of students from different graduate degrees (n = 345) in order to understand how they prepare for oral and written communication. We made use of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA), validated by McCroskey, Beatty, Kearney, and Plax (1985), in order to understand students’ oral communication apprehension. To understand the levels of written communication apprehension, we applied the Daly–Miller Writing Apprehension Test (DMWA). We thus analyzed the communicational skills and the communication apprehension of students from social and human sciences courses in order to understand how they prepare for oral and writing communication, and whether there were differences between genders and between different graduate courses regarding communication apprehension. The main results of this research confirm that the students experienced difficulties with and fear of communication, especially for oral communication. Furthermore, the results indicate that female students showed more significant levels of anxiety with regard to oral and written communication than male students. This exploratory study also makes it possible to distinguish areas of communication apprehension according to the different genders, and even with regard to the degree courses students belonged to.

Merging the E-journaling and the Workshop Methods to Reduce Prep-Year Students’ Writing Apprehension: An Experimental Study

Preparatory (prep) year students presently encounter a significant disparity between prior to college English writing and the much superior level of competence needed for potential academic programs in Saudi Arabia. Study has verified the operational efficacy of the methods of e-journaling and writing workshop on alleviating writing apprehension but on a separate basis. This study represents an original contribution to knowledge through exploring the effects of merging these two outstanding methods. Accordingly, the degree to which this new method reduced Saudi prep-year students' writing apprehension was statistically examined. Tools included an instructional program and a writing apprehension test. The researcher applied the randomized control-group posttest-only design in the experiment. Students were randomly assigned to an experimental group, that studied the new program and a control group, that did not experience such treatment. At the end of the experiment, the two groups were post-tested using the writing apprehension test. Statistical treatment of the results was carried out, and the findings revealed that there is a statistically substantial difference between mean scores in favor of the experimental group students. This indicates that the integration of the e-journaling and the writing workshop methods has substantial effects on minimizing students’ writing apprehension as compared to the control group students. Further research is needed to develop new consistent methods of teaching writing that cope with and benefit from the current digital outbreak, especially in the Saudi, Arab and EFL foundation/prep-year contexts.

The effect of using WhatsApp in online learning setting on Indonesian EFL students’ writing apprehension and the relation with their writing achievement

The primary goals of this research are to investigate the students’ writing apprehension level after being taught through WhatsApp in online learning setting and to find out the correlation between writing apprehension and writing achievement. This study was carried out quantitatively and involved one class of grade X which consisted of thirty-five students. The data was collected through English Writing Test and Writing Apprehension Test, a questionnaire that was developed by Daly and Miller (1975). To test the hypotheses, paired sample t-test and Pearson correlation analysis were applied. The finding of paired sample t-test revealed that there was a significant reduction in the students’ writing apprehension level after the implementation of WhatsApp in online writing classes. Meanwhile, for the correlational analysis, it was done three times to obtain more specific results; the correlation of the data before the treatment, the correlation of the data after the treatment, and the correlation of gain scores of the data. The results showed respectively that two correlational analyses had very high correlation and the last one had an average correlation. Furthermore, all findings showed significant negative correlation; meaning that there was a significant inverse relationship between writing apprehension and writing achievement. This implied that the lower the level of writing apprehension is, the higher the score of writing achievement would be. In conclusion, the implementation of WhatsApp in online writing class is effective to improve students' writing achievement and effective to reduce students’ writing apprehension in Indonesian EFL students.

Writing Anxiety Among Saudi Female Learners at Some Saudi Universities

Writing is an important skill in language learning and in academic achievement. The level of writing anxiety could affect students' achievements positively or negatively. This research aimed to examine the writing anxiety among Saudi female learners enrolled in English language departments at some Saudi universities. It also aimed to identify the sources of writing anxiety. To this end, a mixed method study was designed in which Writing Apprehension Test (WAT) Scale by Daly and Miller (1975) and an open-ended question were used to collect necessary data from 105 randomly selected learners. For data analysis, two different statistical procedures in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and a specific formula suggested by Daly and Miller (1975) were applied. Coding was applied to qualitative data. The results indicated that the participants (N = 105) experience moderate level of writing anxiety. In addition, the main sources of writing anxiety were evaluation, generating ideas, grammar, time pressure, and lack of confidence.

Correlation of anxiety factors and writing anxiety between Korean and the mother language: with a focus on Korean intermediate level language learners

The goal of this study is to analyze the correlation between writing anxiety and anxiety factors in Korean and mother language writing of learners of Korean for Academic Purposes. In order to do this, we used a correlation analysis on the basis of the results of the factor analysis on writing anxiety of Park (2018, in press). The correlation analysis was carried on upon the results of the analysis of the correlation between anxiety factors and writing anxiety. The survey used for the analysis was based on the 26 items in David and Miller’s (1975) WAT (Writing Apprehension Test) with two more items added from Cheng (1998) for a total of28 items, and it was administered to 55 undergraduate foreign students of Korean. First, the analysis shows a meaningful correlation between all the 28 items of the anxiety scale and writing anxiety in Korean as well as in the mother language. Moreover, a meaningful correlation was found also between the factors related to writing in the mother language and in the Korean language. In the case of writing anxiety in the Korean language, among the anxiety items and factors with a strong correlation with writing we found “fear of the Korean writing class” and “lack of confidence”. In the case of writing anxiety in the mother language, on the other hand, we found “lack of confidence in writing down my thoughts”and “unwillingness to express myself and to share”. This paper is a follow up of Park (2018, in press) and aims at understanding in detail which factors influence anxiety in the writing of Korean as a foreign language student. Therefore in this paper we clearly demonstrate which factors influence writing anxiety and make an argument for positive feedback and a writing process aimed to foster self-confidence. Also, since writing in the mother language is correlated to writing in the foreign language, we also advocate for more opportunities to create a positive perception toward writing in general.

The Effects of Writing Apprehension in English Language on Mastering the Writing Skill

Writing apprehension has been considered as one of the affective factors that has a negative impact on foreign language leaners’ performance in writing. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate how writing apprehension effects Libyan EFL university students’ writing at the Faculty of Education-Janzour. The participants of this study were 36 female students majored in English. They were enrolled in the third semester of the academic year (2014-2015). The data of this study was generated from an adapted version of Daly and Miller’s Writing Apprehension Test (WAT) by Gungle and Taylor (1989). The results revealed that students have been suffering from a high level of writing apprehension. Accordingly, the English writing instructors have been recommended to apply the appropriate methods for eliminating the impact of writing apprehension.

ORIENTASI TUJUAN MENYUSUN SKRIPSI DAN KECEMASAN DALAM MENULIS SKRIPSI

The purpose of this study is to find out the relationship between thesis writing orientation and anxiety in thesis writing. Quantitative method is used in this study with 247 Universitas Negeri Jakarta students who is writing thesis as a samples. Sampling method used in this study is incidental sampling. The Instruments used in this study are adapted from Achievement Questionare Scale (Elliot & McGregor, 2001) and Writing Apprehension Test (Daly & Miller, 1975). Data analyzing method used in this study is pearson product moment. The goal orientations which is found negatively correlated with writing anxiety are mastery approach goal orientation (-0,31) and performance approach goal orientation (-0,18). The goal orientation which is found positively correlated with writing anxiety are mastery avoidance goal orientation (0,19) and performance avoidance (0,26).

An Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of Three Different Forms of Daly and Miller’s Writing Apprehension Test through Rasch Analysis

This study evaluates the psychometric properties of three different forms of the Writing Apprehension Test (WAT; Daly & Miller, 1975) through Rasch analysis. For this purpose, the fit statistics and correlation coefficients, and the reliability, separation ratio, and chi-square values for the facets of item and person calculated for the 26-item, one-dimensional, 21-item, one-dimensional and 21-item, four-dimensional forms of the test were compared. The study was conducted with 720 secondary-school students in Nicosia, Northern Cyprus. Having excluded the incomplete or incorrectly completed measurement tools, data for 604 students remained in the data set. The data obtained from the research were analyzed through the Rasch model by making use of the FACETS package program. The results demonstrated that the 21-item, one-dimensional model was the most appropriate model for the WAT. Aside from this, more accurate estimations were found able to be made for students’ writing apprehension by adding items with differing levels of difficulty (higher or lower than existing items) into the test.

Exploring writing apprehension amongst Afrikaans-speaking first-year students

Writing apprehension relates to a reluctance to write or even fear of writing and little research has been done on this phenomenon in the South African context, especially in terms of compulsory academic literacy and academic linguistic modules. This article aimed at determining the nature of writing apprehension in these two modules in terms of the Daly and Miller’s Writing Apprehension Test (DM-WAT), essay marks and gender at a South African university. The DM-WAT was conducted with two groups of first-year students. An exploratory factor analysis was administered and this led to the identification of four distinct factors which are also associated with related aspects in the literature: positivity towards writing, negativity towards writing, evaluation apprehension and selfefficacy and writing. It is evident that in the context of this study, the chosen instrument could not be used to measure writing apprehension, rather the four identified factors. No linear relationships between essay marks and the identified constructs were clear. Also a practical significant difference between genders was found in terms of the identified constructs. Significantly, students in the compulsory academic literacy module showed a greater tendency towards apprehension in terms of the four identified factors than students from the linguistics module. The chosen instrument could be used to gauge the identified factors. Writing in compulsory academic literacy modules should be taught through individualised student-centred methods, affective support and reflective instruction, positive personal feedback, with additional support through counselling as well as effective modelled writing behaviour from lecturers.

The Relationship between Writing Anxiety and Writing Disposition among Secondary School Students

Problem Statement: Writing is important in secondary schools because it underpins the performance of students in most examinations. Writing disposition, which specifically deals with the aspects of students’ attitudes toward writing, has also been studied by some researchers. Purpose of the Study: This study reports on the result of a study on the writing anxiety and writing disposition of Turkish students from different socio-economic status backgrounds studying at public secondary schools. Determining whether there is a significant difference between the secondary school students’ scores from writing anxiety and writing disposition constitutes the research problem of this study. Method: This descriptive study uses a correlational survey model. The participants included 707 students from grade five through eight, who attended two different tests: the Writing Apprehension Scale and Writing Disposition Scale. Findings: The results showed that three of the six variables under study (gender, attitude toward Turkish language courses, and grade level) were statistically significant for the Writing Apprehension test. Additionally, four out of six variables analyzed were statistically significant for the Writing Disposition test. A positive linear relationship between writing anxiety and writing disposition levels was found. Apparently, the more students liked Turkish course, the more anxious they became; a significant difference was found for the variable “positive attitude toward Turkish courses” for both scales. The results also showed that female students are more likely to encounter writing anxiety than male students. Conclusion and Recommendations: The severity of writing anxiety should be dealt with carefully as it can prevent students from becoming competent writers. The link between writing anxiety and writing disposition proposed in this article further explores the advantages and disadvantages of these two aspects of writing. It is recommended that writing anxiety be studied in different contexts because further understanding the reasons for anxiety when students produce qualified writing can be elaborated in this way. Keywords: Turkish course, secondary school students, writing instruction, writing disposition, writing anxiety

Analyzing Writing Anxiety Level of Turkish Cypriot Students

This research aims to investigate the writing anxiety of Turkish Cypriot students at the secondary education level. The level of writing anxiety of students were analysed in three different dimensions. These are “the student’s own characteristics and behaviours”, “the influence of family” and “the influence of the overall educational process, teacher and school”. In this study, 721 secondary school (Class 6, 7, 8) students from Nicosia in Northern Cyprus completed the Writing Apprehension Test: 390 female and 330 male students within the age range of 11 to16 (Mean= 12.84, sd= 1.05). According to the Rasch analysis, the new version of Daly and Miller’s (1975) WAT (3 point Likert scale) which has 20 items (10 positive and 10 negative items) and one factor was used in this study. The writing anxiety of students was examined in three basic headings (own characteristics and behaviours, family characteristics and the impact of school and teachers). Six variables were selected as baseline related to the characteristics and behaviours of students, and all of these determined variables (gender, reading frequency, keeping diary, poem writing, story writing and self-perception of own writing success) were found to be significant for writing anxiety levels. On the other hand, only one of the five variables among family impact (the frequency of newspaper purchase at home) and two of the six variables among school-teacher impact (receiving pre-school education and total working hours of Turkish language teacher) were found to be effective. Considering the results of the present study that anxiety levels of the students who read books, keep diaries or write stories, essays and poems are lower than that of the ones who do not, students should be motivated to perform these activities out of school hours.

The writing attitude scale for teachers (WAST)

This study examines the psychometric properties of the writing attitude scale for teachers (WAST) using scores of preservice teachers to gather evidence of content, internal structure, response processes, reliability/precision, and correlations with external variables. Four contending models were compared using CFA, but the unidimensional model was championed. The WAST was further refined using IRT to 10-items and shown to have high precision across most of the latent continuum. The WAST was shown to have incremental evidence relative to the writing apprehension test when predicting attitudes towards attending a professional development workshop on writing instruction and time devoted to writing instruction.

Exploring Korean heritage language learners’ anxiety: ‘we are not afraid of Korean!’

This study investigated Korean heritage language (KHL) learners’ foreign language classroom anxiety, reading anxiety and writing anxiety using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) by Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope, the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) by Saito, Garza and Horwitz and the Writing Apprehension Test (WAT) by Daly and Miller. Sixty-one KHL students enrolled in a heritage-track second semester Korean course at a large university in the southwest USA participated. The results showed that the KHL students generally showed low or moderate levels of foreign language anxiety and reading anxiety and a relatively high level of writing anxiety. In addition, the FLCAS had highly positive correlations with the FLRAS and the WAT, indicating that students who had high anxiety about foreign language learning in the classroom also had high levels of reading and writing anxiety. All three types of anxiety correlated negatively with student achievement, that is, students with high anxiety had lower grades. Moreover, significant differences existed between two groups based on perceived cultural ethnicity, indicating that KHL students who identified themselves as Korean showed significantly lower levels of anxiety and had higher grades than KHL students who perceived their cultural identity as American.

Sürece Dayalı Yazma Yaklaşımının Yazma Başarısı ve Kaygısı Üstündeki Etkisi

AbstractThe process writing approach treats writing not as a completed product but as a process. Writing studies are carried out as a part of the process before the written text is completed. This approach focuses on the student in writing lessons, and the teacher only acts as a guide. The process writing approach involves activities occurring during the production of a written text. This study investigated the effect of the process writing approach on writing success and anxiety. The participants in this study were first-year preschool teaching students; a pretestposttest control group quasi-experimental design was employed. Experimental procedures for the study lasted 10 weeks. Data regarding the dimension of written expression were obtained through evaluation of academic writings generated by students at the beginning and end of experimental procedures. Data associated with writing anxiety were collected through the Writing Apprehension Test. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used for statistical analysis of the data. As a result of the statistical analysis, the study found that the process writing approach had a significant effect on writing success and anxiety. Based on this finding, the use of process writing approach is recommended for written expression studies.Key WordsProcess Writing Approach, Writing Anxiety, Writing Expression, Language Skills, Preschool Teacher Candidates.Written expression is a difficult language skill for students. The fact that writing activities in schools are mostly oriented toward formal features (Gocer, 2011; Temizkan, 2007; Ulper, 2012) is among the reasons for this difficulty. It is preferable to give priority to content characteristics in the act of writing that aims at transferring a message. Moreover, receiving only negative feedback related to errors leads to writing anxiety in students (Barnett, 1992; Madigan, Linton, & Johnson, 1996). This can result in unsuccessful acts of writing and consequently, unsuccessful texts. However, this problem can be solved if evaluation of the written text is conducted as part of the writing process. This study aims to determine the effect of Flower and Hayes's (1981) Process Writing Approach, which allows the written product to be checked and evaluated during the writing process, on students' writing success and anxiety.The Process Writing ApproachFour different approaches have been proposed for writing: the Schmidt model, the Van Galen model, the Hayes and Flower model, and the Hayes model (Gune?, 2007). In the approach developed by Flower and Hayes (1981), the points to be realized throughout the writing process are focused on improvement of the written product. In this approach, three dimensions of the act of writing are emphaa sized: the task environment, long-term memory, and the writing process. Two important units of the task environment are the topic and the text. The writer's ability to determine and present the topic is a major part of the writing process. The writer's long-term memory is important for retrieving information from memory or activating hints that will realize it. The retrieved information is expected to be integrated into the topic. Although correct information about a specific topic can be retrieved, sometimes it cannot be organized in a way the reader can understand (McCurdy, Schmitz, & Albertson, 2010). The writing process is the third unit of the cognitive process approach. This unit is composed of the stages of planning, translating, and reviewing. Planning refers to content production and organization (Graham, 2006). During the translation stage, opinions are transformed into written language, and the writer addresses numerous details of written language such as syntax, grammar, and spelling. During review, the writer reads to develop the text or correct any errors. Constant monitoring during the writing process serves to determine the transitions from one phase to another (Flower & Hayes, 1981). …

Examining the Effect of Strategy Instruction on Writing Apprehension and Writing Achievement of EFL Learners

Writing as a communicative activity imposes great difficulties on EFL learners and both cognitive and affective aspects of writing have a sharing part in this complex process. The current study aimed to explore the effect of explicit writing strategy instruction, prewriting strategies in particular on reducing writing apprehension, and promoting writing performance.42 intermediate EFL students participated in this study, 28 students in two experimental groups received the treatment and the results compared to their 14 counterparts in the control group. All the participants received Writing Apprehension Test (WAT) as the pretest and posttest. They further were expected to write two expository essays at the beginning and end of the study. After administrating the pretests and posttests, the results reflected on the effectiveness of explicit writing strategy instruction and the potentials of prewriting strategies in alleviating the level of writing apprehension. Further, explicit instruction of prewriting strategies greatly optimized the writing achievement of students in the two experimental groups. The findings of the present study also suggest that the implementation of explicit strategy instruction by the teacher can make a world of difference for students in learning process.