Empirical studies have shown that anxiety and negative emotion can hinder language acquisition. The present study implemented a writing instructional model so as to investigate its effects on the writing anxiety levels of English Foreign Language learners. The study was conducted with 177 participants, who were administered the Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI; Cheng, 2004) that assesses somatic, cognitive and behavioral anxiety, both at baseline and following the implementation of a writing instructional model. The hypothesis stated that the participant's writing anxiety levels would lessen following the provision of a writing strategy-based procedural facilitative environment that fosters cognitive apprenticeship. The initial hypothesis was supported by the findings. Specifically, in the final measurement statistical significant differences appeared where participants in the experimental group showed notable lower mean values of the three factors of anxiety, a factor that largely can be attributed to the content of the intervention program applied to this specific group. The findings validate that Foreign Language writing anxiety negatively effects Foreign Language learning and performance. The findings also support the effectiveness of strategy-based procedural facilitative writing environments that foster cognitive apprenticeship, so as to enhance language skill development and reduce feelings of Foreign Language writing anxiety.

No abstract

In the present study, a quasi-experimental pre-post test design was used to assess the effects of an argumentative writing strategy (POW+TREE) on the performance of grade five and six students of Greek origin who were learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in a Greek setting. The Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) cognitive apprenticeship model was utilized to improve the text composition skills of the students. In the experimental group (N=77), participants received instruction on general and genre-specific strategy use for planning and writing argumentative essays, on procedures to apply self-regulation (goal setting, self-monitoring, self- reinforcement, and self-instructions), and on establishing additional skills (vocabulary, grammar-drill instruction, good word choice, interesting openings etc.). The control group (N=100) was supported through a traditional curriculum in writing (focusing on spelling and grammar). Findings of the study showed that strategy instructed students wrote argumentative essays that were schematically stronger, qualitatively better, and longer than those produced by their counterparts in the control group.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of explicit, structured strategybased procedural facilitation in writing, fostering cognitive apprenticeship and selfregulation strategies, Scardamalia, 1987, Spantidakis, 2010) along with its effects on the anxiety levels of fifth and sixth grade English language learners studying at a mainstream primary school in Chania, Crete, Greece. Specifically, the current study examined whether structured instruction in writing and self-regulation strategies, guided by strategy-based procedural facilitation in writing, would result in the improvement of students' writing quality, metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive skills, and metacognitive behavior as well as whether there would be a reduction in the students' anxiety levels. The participants consisted of one hundred and seventy seven (177) grade five (5), and six (6) primary school students. One hundred (100) students were part of the control group and seventy-seven (77) were part of the research group. The subjects were identified as below average, average, and above average writers and were randomly assigned into two treatment groups; the experimental group was provided with strategybased procedural facilitation for two writing genres: story writing, and expository essay, and the control group that did not receive any writing instruction whatsoever, apart from the guidelines outlined by the Greek Ministry of Education. Participants' first language (L1) writing samples were also collected on both story writing and expository essays from the control and the experimental group, so as to investigate possible transfer of strategies from L2 to L1. The data collection included (a) pre and post-test foreign language writing samples on both story writing and expository essay; (b) semi-structured individual interviews; (c) participant observation; (d) anxiety questionnaires; (e) writing samples on first language (L1). Statistical important differences in scores between pretest and post-test indicated that students' writing products improved in terms of overall writing quality; students' metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive skills and in turn metacognitive behavior was enhanced, while feelings of anxiety lessened.