The Role of Self-Regulated Learning Capacities in Iranian EFL Undergraduates’ Argumentative Writing Task Performance
Subject Areas : Research in English Language PedagogyAli Akbar Khomeijani Farahani 1 , Fatemeh Faryabi 2
1 - Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature, University of Tehran, Iran
2 - Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature, University of Tehran, Iran
Keywords: Argumentative Writing Task, EFL undergraduates, Self-Regulatory Capacities, Motivated S strategies for Learning Questionnaire,
Abstract :
The current study was an attempt to explore the relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ self-regulatory capacities and their argumentative writing task performance in order to analyze measures of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). To this end, 44 Iranian EFL undergraduates majoring in English literature at the University of Tehran were recruited based on convenience sampling to participate in this study. Employing a correlational design, the participants were required to perform an argumentative writing task and complete the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire designed by Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, and McKeachie (1991). Pearson product moment correlation indicated a significant relationship between self-regulated learning and writing task performance in relation to CAF measures. In addition, the results of multiple regression showed that resource management strategies and value component predicted 56.9% of grammatical accuracy of writing task. It was also shown that resource management strategies, value, and expectancy components predicted 56.5% of lexical complexity of writing task. Lastly, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, expectancy, and value components predicted 55.2% of the fluency of writing task. The findings of this study informs EFL writing pedagogy and English language teachers and syllabus designers with regard to the benefits of applying self-regulatory strategies in teaching and assessing writing.
Adams, R., Amani, S., Newton, J., & Alwi, N. (2014). Planning and production in computer-mediated communication (CMC) writing. In H. Byrnes & R. Manchón, (Eds.) Task-based language learning-insights from and for L2 learning (pp. 137-161).John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 248-287.
Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. (1999). Longman grammar of spoken and written English. London: Longman.
Boekaerts, M. (1996). Self-regulated learning at the junction of cognition and motivation. European Psychologist, 1, 100-112.
Boekaerts, M. (1999). Self-regulated learning: Where are we today? International Journal of Educational Research, 31, 445–457.
Boekaerts, M., Pintrich, P. R., & Zeidner, M. (Eds.) (2000). Handbook of self- Regulation. San Diego, CA: Academic.
Branden, K., Bygate, M., & Norris, J. (2009). Task-based language teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Pub.
Brunstein, J., & Glaser, C. (2011). Testing a path-analytic mediation model of how self-regulated writing strategies improve fourth graders' composition skills: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(4), 922-938. Doi: 10.1037/a0024622.
Byrnes, H. & Manchón, R. (2014) Task-based language learning-insights from and for L2 learning John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Caffarella, R. S., & Barnett, B. G. (2000). Teaching doctoral students to become scholarly writer: The importance of giving and receiving critiques. Studies in Higher Education, 25(1), 39-52.
Carless, D. (2012). TBLT in EFL settings: Looking back and moving forward. In A. Shehadeh, & C. Coombe (Eds.), Task-based language teaching in foreign language contexts: Research and implementation (pp. 345–358). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Carnie, A. (2006). Syntax. Oxford: Blackwell.
Castello, M., Inesta, A., & Monereo, M. (2009). Towards self-regulated academic writing: an exploratory study with graduate students in a situated learning environment. Electronic Journal of research in Educational Psychology, 7(3), 1107-1130.
Chenoweth, A., & Hayes, J. (2001). Fluency in writing: Generating text in L1 and L2. Written Communication, 18, 80-98.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates.
Corno, L. (2001). Volitional aspects of self-regulated learning. In B. J. Zimmerman & D. H. Schuck (Eds.), Self-regulated learning and academic achievement an overview: Theoretical perspectives (PP. 191-225),Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Dinsmore, D. L., Alexander, P. A., & Loughlin, S. M. (2008). Focusing the conceptual lens on metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning. Educational Psychology Review, 20(4), 391-409.
Dörnyei, Z. (2002). The motivational basis of language learning tasks. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Individual differences in second language acquisition (pp. 137-158). Amsterdam: John Benjamin.
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum.
Dörnyei, Z., & Kormos, J. (2000). The role of individual and social variables in oral task Language teaching research, 4(3), 275-300.
Ellis, R. (2012). Language teaching research and language pedagogy. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.
Ellis, R., & Yuan, F. (2004). The effects of planning on fluency, complexity, and accuracy in second language narrative writing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26(01), 59-84.
Ellis, R., & Yuan, F. (2005). The effects of careful within task planning on oral and written task performance. In R. Ellis (Ed.), Planning and task performance in second language learning (pp. 167-192). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Fahim, M., & Rajabi, S. (2015). Applying self-regulated strategy development model of instruction to teach writing skill: Effects on writing performance and writing motivation of EFL learners. International Journal of Research Studies in Education, 4 (2), 29-42.
Flower, L. & Hayes, J. (1980). The Cognition of Discovery: Defining a Rhetorical Problem Composition and Communication, 31(1), 21. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/356630
Glaser, C., & Brunstein, J. (2007). Improving fourth-grade students' composition skills: effects of strategy instruction and self-regulation procedures. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(2), 297-310. Doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.99.2.297
Graham, S. (2006). Strategy instruction and the teaching of writing. In C. MacArthur, S. Graham & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (pp. 187-207). New York: The Guilford Press.
Hammann, L. (2005). Self-regulation in academic writing tasks. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 17(1), 15-26.
Harris, K., Graham, S., Mason, L., & Saddler, B. (2002). Developing self-regulated writers. Theory into Practice, 41(2), 110-115. Doi: 10.1207/s15430421tip4102_7
Harris, K., Santangelo, T., & Graham, S. (2008). Self-regulated strategy development in writing: Going beyond NLEs to a more balanced approach. Instructional Science, 36(5-6), 395408. Doi: 10.1007/s11251-008-9062-9
Kormos, J. (2012). The role of individual differences in L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 21(4), 390-403. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2012.09.003
Lane, K., Graham, S., Harris, K., Little, M., Sandmel, K., & Brindle, M. (2009). Story Writing: The effects of self-regulated strategy development for second-grade students with writing and behavioral difficulties. The Journal of Special Education, 44(2), 107-128. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022466908331044
Macaro, E. (2014). “Reframing task performance: The relationship between tasks, strategic behaviour, and linguistic knowledge”, In H. Byrnes & R. M Manchón (eds.) Task-Based
Language Learning – Insights from and for L2 Writing. (pp. 53-78). Amsterdam: John
Benjamins Publishing Company.
Magno, C. (2009). Self-regulation and approaches to learning in English composition writing. TESOL Journal, 1, 1-16.
Manchón, R. M., (2009). Individual differences in foreign language learning: The dynamics of beliefs about L2 writing. RESLA, 22, 245-268.
Manchón, R. M. & Roca de Larios, J. (2007). On the Temporal Nature of Planning in L1 and L2 Composing: A study of Foreign Language Writers. Language Learning, 57, 549-593.
Mehrabi, M., Kalantarian, R., & Boshrabadi, A. (2016). The interplay between self-regulation strategies, academic writing achievement and gender in an Iranian L2 context. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 3(2), 230-239.
Ong, J., & Zhang, L. J. (2010). Effects of task complexity on the fluency and lexical complexity in EFL students’ argumentative writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 19(4), 218-233. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2010.10.003
Philips, D. (2001). Longman Introductory Course for the TOEFL test. London: Longman.
Polio, C. (1997). Measures of linguistic accuracy in second language writing research. Language Learning, 47(1), 101-143. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.31997003
Richards, B. J. & Malvern, D. D. (2004). Investigating the validity of a new measure of lexical diversity for root and inflected forms. In K. Trott, S. Dobbinson, & P. Griffith (eds.), The child language reader (pp.81-9). London: Routledge.
Robinson, P. (2005). Cognitive complexity and task sequencing: Studies in a componential framework for second language task design. IRAL - International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 43(1), 1-32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/iral.2005.43.1.1
Robinson, P. (2011). Second language task complexity: Researching the Cognition Hypothesis
of language learning and performance (pp.175-202). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Ruiz-Funes, M. (2014). Task complexity and linguistic performance in advanced college level foreign language writing. In Byrnes, H. & Manchón, R. (Eds.) Task-based language learning-insights from and for L2 learning (163-191).John Benjamins Publishing Company. Doi: 10.1075/tblt.7
Sangarun, J. (2005). The effects of focusing on meaning and form in strategic planning. In R. Ellis (Ed.), Planning and task performance in a second language (pp. 111-143). Amesterdam: John Benjamins Publishing.
Santangelo, T., Harris, K. R., & Graham, S. (2007). Self-regulated strategy development: A validated model to support students who struggle with writing. Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 5(1), 1-20.
Schunk, D. H. (2005). Self-regulated learning: The educational legacy of Paul R. Pintrich. Educational Psychologist, 40, 85-94.
Skehan, P., & Foster, P. (1999). The influence of task structure and processing conditions on narrative retellings. Language Learning, 49 (1), 93-120.
Torrance, M., Fidalgo, R., & Garcia, J. (2007). The teachability and effectiveness of cognitive self-regulation in sixth-grade writers. Learning and Instruction, 17(3), 265-285.
Zimmerman, B. J. (1998), Academic studying and the development of personal skill: A self- regulatory perspective. Education Psychology, 33(2/3), 73-86.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Attaining self-regulation: A social cognitive perspective. In M. Boekaerts, P.R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner, (eds.), Handbook of Self-regulation (pp. 749-768) San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner: An overview. Theory into Practice, 41, 64-72.
Zimmerman, B. J., & Schunk, D. H. (2001). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: theoretical perspective. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.