IELTS Writing Skills Training and EFL Learners’ Identity Construction: Link to Selves-theory

Subject Areas : Journal of Teaching English Language Studies

Sanaz Farnia ¹ , Neda Fatehi Rad ² , Hassan Shahabi ³

1 - Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English Language, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of English Language, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran
3 - Assistant Professor, Department of English Language, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran

Received: 2023-05-07 Accepted : 2023-08-07 Published : 2023-09-11

Keywords: IELTS writing skills, Identity construction, EFL context, Selves-theory,

Abstract :

Writing academically which has recently attracted much attention in the field of applied linguistics, is a complex process for many candidates. Among the four language skills, writing is more tied to selves-theory since it needs ideology transfer, the main element of the theory. This paper made an effort to examine the effect of training on IELTS writing skill on Iranian EFL students' construction of the possible selves in the future. In doing so, an experimental study was employed and 90 candidates of both genders were chosen to participate based on cluster sampling method. The instrument of the study was a related questionnaire (Zadshir et al., 2020) which was used to check the expected possible selves of the participants. Descriptive statistics and Multi-Variate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) were run to analyze data. Findings of the study indicated that expected and responsible selves were stronger than feared selves among the participants after treatment. That is to say, training on IELTS writing skills had a remarkable effect on Iranian EFL students’ construction of the possible selves and the dimensions of the possible selves in the future. Implications of the results for EFL curriculum planners, teachers and learners have been discussed.

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