Promoting EFL Learners’ Writing Skills via Reflection: The Case of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle
Subject Areas : آموزش زبان انگلیسیسلمان اصحابی 1 , مژگان رشتچی 2 , مسعود سیری 3
1 - دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، واحدعلوم و تحقیقات تهران، دانشکده علوم انسانی، گروه زبان‌های خارجی
2 - Department of English, Tehran West Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
3 - عضو هیات علمی / گروه زبان های خارجه، دانشکده ادبیات، علوم انسانی و اجتماعی، دانشگاه آزاد واحد علوم و تحقیقات تهران
Keywords: Think-aloud Protocol, writing performance, Kolb’ s Experiential Learning Cycle, reflective writing, traditional writing method,
Abstract :
Writing skill is a challenging and frequently-used activity in academic circles. This study investigated the effects of reflective writing on EFL learners’ writing performance. The participants were 61 Iranian EFL learners from two intact university classes randomly assigned to the non-reflective (n=31) and reflective (n=30) groups. Over sixteen sessions of instructions over eight weeks, the non-reflective group was taught using the traditional writing method; however, the reflective group was exposed to reflective writing instruction under Kolb’s Model. The data were collected through reflective writing compositions and the content analysis of think-aloud protocols. The quantitative data analysis revealed that the reflective group significantly outperformed the non-reflective group in writing compositions. The thematic analysis of think-aloud protocols substantiated the quantitative data findings, indicating that all participants went through the cognitive psychological processes of ‘planning, drafting, pausing and thinking, reading and reproducing, reviewing, editing and revising’ as they were engaged in reflective writing via Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle. The results offer significant implications for language instructors, curriculum planners, and course designers.
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