The Effects of Writing to Learn (WTL) on Academic Achievement and Attitude to Lesson in English Classes

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of applying the writing letter activity of writing to learn strategies on the English Language Academic Achievement and Attitude level of 11 th grade students. The research was carried out with 84 students (43 male, 41 female) at one of the state schools in Black Sea Region of Turkey. Mixed method was used in the research. A non-equivalent control group model which is one of the quasi-experimental methods was used in the quantitative part of the research. Simple Past Tense Achievement Test (SPTAT) developed by the researcher and Attitude to English Lesson Questionnaire (AELQ) developed by were used to obtain the quantitative data. Structured interview questions were asked to the six students chosen from the experimental groups using the maximum variety technique. At the end of the research, it is detected that using writing to learn strategies in English classes makes statistically significant difference for the benefit of experiment groups on the level of academic success and attitude to lesson.

‘Writing to Learn’ Research: A Synthesis of Empirical Studies (2004-2019)

“…In like manner, Lew & Schmidt (2011) emphasized the role of journal writing activities in fostering students' learning about critical reviews and text summaries. It has also been noted that students who engaged in writing to learn activities enhanced their learning and academic performance in comparison to students who received traditional instruction (İncirci & Parmaksiz, 2016). The same argument holds for (Cheng & Feyten, 2015;Driessens & Parr, 2019) which respectively highlighted the role of providing students with ample writing opportunities and the impact of teachers' modeling and written feedback on the development of students' reflective practices and critical thinking literacies.…”

“…Ostensibly, the L1 and L2 variable had no bearing on the effects of writing to learn interventions. The fact of the matter is that the following ESL and EFL based studies: (Cheng & Feyten, 2015;İncirci & Parmaksiz , 2016;Kieft et al, 2008;Lew & Schmidt, 2011;Lund, 2016;Manchón & Roca de Larios, 2011;Suhaimi et al, 2016) had all underlined positive effects of writing to learn strategies and tasks on students' learning in the L2 context. In the same way, the L1 based studies included in this review: (Arnold et al, 2017;Driessens & Parr, 2019;Nevid et al, 2012;Ray et al, 2016;Schmidt, 2004;Wright et al, 2019) highlighted similar benefits of writing to learn interventions on students' overall learning experiences in the L1 context in the US and Canada.…”

“…A large university in United States İncirci & Parmaksiz (2016) Effects of writing to learn interventions on academic achievement and attitude toward learning.…”

The Implication of Language Background of Students’ in Academic Performance: Case of Engineering University

“…Based on that, students can construct their own meaning of the different content of the curriculum and put it in its simplest form for easy understanding since writing provides a powerful mechanism for learning across complex subjects' matter. İncirci & Şükrü Parmaksiz, (2016) noted that educators have encouraged writing as a driving force to learning and understanding different learning materials. This is supported by Waring, (2007) on the impact of writing on students' achievement.…”

“…If content presented for assessment is affected by a lack of language skills, their performance is likely to be affected. However, increased writing is an ingredient of better academic performance, hence increased writing increases academic achievement (İncirci & Şükrü Parmaksiz, 2016). It has been proven that writing is the best tool for learning any material because it activates thinking.…”