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Abstract
The present study investigated the effectiveness of a writer’s workshop-based program to teach aspects of process writing to first year secondary stage students in improving their writing skills and attitudes towards EFL. The problems of students’ lack of the writing process skills and negative attitudes towards EFL in general and writing in particular were documented through the collection of student writing samples, teacher observation, and the pilot study conducted by the researcher. Analysis of the probable causes was revealed in literature and supported by the data collected. Probable cause data included: 1) the lack of time devoted to teaching writing; 2) the lack of teacher training in teaching the stages of the writing process; 3) the reliance on previous teachers’ ineffective strategies in the teaching of writing; and 4) the lack of student motivation. A review of solution strategies in the literature revealed that components of the Writer’s Workshop were helpful in improving students’ writing skills.
Instruments and materials of the study were prepared by the researcher and included a pre-post writing skills test, a pre-post EFL attitude scale, and a Writer’s Workshop-Based program. All the participants (N=74) had no experience with writing as a process. Before implementing the Writer’s Workshop-Based Program, students were divided into two groups: experimental (N=37) and control (N=37). Then, both groups were administered the EFL attitude scale to determine their preferences and perceptions of EFL in general and of writing in particular. The two groups were also pre tested using the pre post writing skills test to make sure that they all held the same achievement level. After that, three-month time experimentation took place. The experimental group students the workshop-based instruction, while the control group students received instruction via the usual method/product-based writing. Both groups were post tested using the pre post writing skills test. The experimental group students were post administered the EFL attitude scale to detect any change in their attitudes towards EFL in general and writing in EFL in particular.The results of the study revealed that the experimental group students improved in all the five stages of process writing (pre writing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing). Also, positive attitudes were developed among the experimental group students who were more willing to participate in all the phases of the Writer’s Workshop.
The researcher concluded that implementing the Writer’s Workshop resulted in boosts in self-esteem, greater enthusiasm, improved writing scores, and faster language development in students of all ability levels with varying degrees. It was also concluded that attitudes towards EFL learning in the context of the Writer’s Workshop could be changed positively as students were exposed to different types of writing which were real and meaningful.