The Relationship of Writing Apprehension Level and Self-efficacy Beliefs on Writing Proficiency Level among Pre-university Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of writing apprehension and how writing apprehension level and writing self-efficacy beliefs influences writing proficiency level among pre-university students. Participants were 320 pre-university students from a northern region college offering this programme. All the respondents were administered with three instruments measuring their writing apprehension levels and writing self-efficacy beliefs and their writing proficiency. The writing apprehension levels among these respondents were found to be average. Self-efficacy factors revealed an inverse relationship with writing apprehension level. The relationship between writing apprehension level and writing proficiency indicated that the higher the apprehension level the better the respondents performance. Students' views with regard to their writing apprehension level are also presented. These findings are supported in the literature and discussions. Based on the findings, the study presents some recommendations to overcome this problem.

An Investigation into Preparatory Class EFL Students’ L2 Writing Anxiety

“…Furthermore, Zhang (2011) Cheng (2004a) found a significant negative relationship between writing anxiety and writing performance of the participants. Finally, Singh and Rajalingam (2012) reported that there was a positive relationship between L2 writing anxiety and writing performance. In the current study, however, 91 out of 117 participants had high grades and 38 of them had a high level of anxiety.…”

“…To illustrate, DeDeyn (2011) indicated that there was no significant correlation between students' writing performance and writing anxiety levels. On the other hand, Singh and Rajalingam (2012) examined how writing anxiety level and writing self-efficacy beliefs influenced writing proficiency level. The participants were 320 Malaysian pre-university students.…”

“…In this vein, portfolio-based writing instruction (Fathi, Derakhshan, & Safdari, 2020;Öztürk & Çeçen, 2007), online tools such as e-feedback via wikis (Iksan & Halim, 2018) and peer feedback activities (Sivaci, 2020) were suggested to develop writing performance of students and decrease their L2 writing anxiety in EFL and ESL contexts. Also, in order to reduce L2 writing anxiety, students should be helped to develop positive attitudes towards their writing capability (Cheng, 2002), student-centered and problem-based methodology could be adopted in language teaching (Singh & Rajalingam, 2012), and peer feedback activities can be integrated into writing courses (Çınar, 2014;Yastıbaş & Yastıbaş, 2015).…”

“…Third, the role of blended and conventional writing environments (Bailey, Lee, Vorst, & Crosthwaite, 2017), emergency remote teaching (ERT) (Bailey & Almusharraf, 2022) and blog-mediated instruction (Fathi & Nourzadeh, 2019) in L2 writing anxiety has been foregrounded in relevant studies. Finally, there have been inconsistent research findings about the variables which play a role in L2 writing anxiety and writing performance of students (DeDeyn, 2011;Erkan & Saban, 2011;Negari & Rezaabadi, 2012;Singh & Rajalingam, 2012;Susoy & Tanyer, 2013;Zhang, 2011). In this regard, further research in different contexts is needed to consider the effects of anxiety on writing abilities of students.…”

“Are you Gonna Help us with Writing?” Empowering Writers though Dialogue Journaling

“…This community is based on common histories, goals, and routines (Graham, 2018); positions writers to discuss ideas with one another before writing on their own (Vygotsky, 1978); and helps to build self‐efficacy in writers through positive writing experiences (Bandura, 1986; Dunlap, 2006; Fritson, 2008). Singh and Rajalingam (2012) found that these types of experiences can inspire future success, and several researchers (Bromley & Powell, 1999; Cisero, 2006; Fritson, 2008; Julien, 2017; Linares, 2020; Portman, 2020) asserted that writing as a social activity can motivate writers and lessen their aversions toward writing.…”