This study investigated the effects of topic familiarity on eleventh graders' writing performance in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. The students were assigned to finish two writing tasks with topics that they were familiar with. One of these familiar topics had been experienced by the students, while the other one had not. The purpose was to find out whether topic familiarity would result in the same quality performance in two different writing genres, namely cause-effect and recount. This study also investigated the students' perception of the use of topic familiarity in writing. The study was conducted for about four months and involved 34 eleventh graders and an English teacher. This study used a mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative), and data were collected by using questionnaires, direct observation, and students' writing post-tasks. Students' writing tasks were assessed using an analytic scoring rubric. Findings show that a familiar topic with personal experience significantly affected students' vocabulary production. Furthermore, the students had a positive perception of writing tasks with topic familiarity. Based on this finding, teachers need to be more selective in choosing topics for their students' writing tasks.

This study is a case study to investigate students’ perceptions toward teacher’s talk in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms. It is conducted for two months on a single entity as the research subject, ie on 35 Eleventh-graders with varying English language skills and an English teacher. Since it focuses only on a certain entity, the results of the study cannot be generalized to the broader context. This study uses a qualitative approach by showing data from the results of questionnaires, observations and interviews with research samples. The study focuses on a research question on how Eleventh graders' perception on a teacher’s talk in EFL classrooms. Regarding to the research question, it aims to determine the thoughts of students on teacher’s talk, so that the teacher can organize and modify the class based on the perceptions that can implicate the learning process by reducing students’ anxiety. It provides students opportunities to be able to process information or lessons learned more comfortably, thus it reduces obstacles in learning. The findings of the study show that the majority of students of Eleventh-grade want to fully use English although they still have difficulties in understanding and feel less confident in using English.