The Effect of a Newly- Developed Context-sensitive Framework of Writing Practice on Iranian EFL Learners' Writing Performance

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD Student in TEFL, Department of English Language, Qeshm Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qeshm, Iran

2 Assistant Professor of TEFL, Department of English Language, Qeshm Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qeshm, Iran

3 Professor of TEFL, Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

10.34785/J014.2022.551

Abstract

The present quasi-experimental study attempts to investigate the effectiveness of a context-sensitive framework of writing on the improvement of Iranian EFL students' writing performance. To this aim, sixty sophomores majoring in English language translation from two intact classes at Islamic Azad University of Tonekabon, Iran participated in this study. An Oxford Quick Placement Test was administered to assess the participants' degree of homogeneity and classify them in intermediate (receiving 28-36 out of 60) and upper-intermediate (receiving 37-44 out of 60) groups. Then, each group was randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. A pretest of writing was administered to all participants. The experimental groups practiced essay writing according to the context-sensitive framework. After 12 sessions, all participants took part in the post test. Paired sample t-tests and independent sample t-tests were run to examine whether there were statistically significant differences between the means of the groups. The results revealed that both the intermediate and upper- intermediate experimental groups significantly outperformed the control groups stating that the context-sensitive framework was effective to improve the students' writing performance. However, there was no significant difference between the posttest scores of intermediate and upper-intermediate experimental groups. It means that implementation of context-sensitive framework was equally effective in both experimental groups. The findings supported the use of a context-sensitive framework for promoting writing ability of Iranian EFL learners. The study has implications for writing teachers, practitioners, and learners.

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Main Subjects

References

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Critical Literary Studies
Volume 4, Issue 1 - Serial Number 7
March 2022
Pages 201-225

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History

  • Receive Date: 13 April 2021
  • Revise Date: 04 October 2021
  • Accept Date: 29 November 2021

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