The Impact of Negotiated Syllabus on the EFL Learners’ Writing Ability and Self-Esteem
محورهای موضوعی : Journal of Teaching English Language StudiesSeyedeh Fatemeh Saleh 1 , Roohollah Maleki 2
1 - Department of English Language, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran
2 - Department of English Language, Shahid Sattari Aeronautical University of Science and
Technology
کلید واژه: syllabus, negotiated syllabus, writing ability and self-esteem,
چکیده مقاله :
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of negotiated syllabus ondeveloping EFL learners’ writing ability and self-esteem. To do so, first Nelsonproficiency test was administered to 90 participants to select intermediate homogenouslearners. The scores were analyzed and the mean was obtained. Then one standarddeviation above and below the mean was considered as a technique to homogenize theparticipants. Therefore, 61 learners were selected as homogeneous intermediateparticipants for this study. The learners were divided into experimental group (n = 30) andcontrol group (n = 31). A writing test and self-esteem questionnaire (SEI) as pre-tests weregiven to both groups in order to determine their writing ability and level of self-esteembefore starting the treatment course. The control group received conventional writinginstruction but the experimental group experienced writing instruction based on negotiatedsyllabus. At the end of the course, the learners in both groups took a writing test and self –esteem questionnaire as post-test to find out which group had performed significantlybetter than the other. Independent samples t-test found a statistically significant differencein writing scores for experimental and control groups on the post-test favoring theexperimental. Besides, t-test found a statistically significant difference in self-esteemscores between the two experimental and control groups on the post-test in favor of theexperimental. Thus, the findings of present study indicated that writing ability and selfesteemwere more significantly affected in light of the treatment via negotiated syllabus.
Bandura A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory.
Englewood Cliffs. N. J.: Prentice Hall.
Bandura, A. (1995). Guide for constructing self-efficacy scales. Available from Frank Pajar
es, Division of Educational Studies. Emory University, Atlanta, GA 36322.
Bednar, Richard, L., et al. (1989). Self-esteem: Paradoxes & innovations in clinical theory &
practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Bloor, M. & Bloor, T. (1988). Syllabus negotiation: The basis for learner autonomy. In
Brookes & P. Grundy (Eds.), Individualization and autonomy in language learning (pp.62-74). London, England: Modern English Publication & the British Council.
Breen, M. P. (1987a). Contemporary paradigms in syllabus design, Part I. Language Teach
ing,20(2), 81-91.
Breen, M. P. (1987b). Contemporary paradigms in syllabus design, Part II. Language Teach
ing, 20(3), 157-174.
Breen, M. P., & Little John, A. (2000). Classroom Decision-making negotiation and process
syllabuses in practice. U. K.: Cambridge University Press.
Breen, M.P.(2001). Syllabus design. In R. Carter and D. Nunan (Eds.). The cambrige guide to
teaching English to speakers of other languages. UK: Cambridge University Press.
Branden, N. (1983). The psychology of self-esteem. Honoring the self. Los Angles Tarcher:
Bantam books.
Brindley, R., & Schneider, J. J. (2002). Writing instruction or destruction: Lessons to be
learned from fourth grade teachers’ perspectives on teaching writing. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(4), 328–341.
Brown, J. D. (1998). The self. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Boomer, G., Lester, N., Onore, C. & Cook, J. (1992). Negotiating the curriculum. Educating
for the twenty first century. London: Falmer.
Clark, D. (2004). Explorations into writing anxiety: Helping students overcome their fears
and focus on learning. Chandler Community College Project Work. Retrieved from http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu
Coopersmith, S. (1967). The antecedents of self-esteem: San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.
Fleming, J. S., & Coutney, B. E. (1984). The dimensionality of self-esteem: II. Hierarchical
facet model for revised measurement scales. Journal of personality and social psychology, 46(2), 404-421.
Graham, S., Harris, K. R., & Troia, G. A. (2000). Self-regulated strategy development revis-
ited: Teaching writing strategies to struggling writers. Topics in Language Disorders, 20(4), 1–14.doi.org/10.1097/00011363-200020040-00003
Groudnick, J.R. (2001). Self-esteem and writing achievement. ERIC Document Reproduction
Service, ED 395311.
Gourlay, L. (2005). Directions and indirect action: learner adaptation of a classroom task.
ELT Journal (59), 209-216.
Hall, G. (1999). Redefining the syllabus: An investigation into whether syllabuses can meet
learners’ linguistic and social needs. Retrieved October 4, 2003 from http://www.ling.lancs.ac.uk/group/circle/circle4Hall.pdf
Lee, L. (1994). L2 Writing: Using pictures as a guided writing environment. Paper presented
at the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association Conference. Proceedings: State University of New York, Plattsburgh.
Lidvall, C. (2008). Get Real: Instructional Implications for Authentic Writing Activities.
Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1803/789.
Lipstein, R. L., & Renninger, K. A. (2007). Interest for writing: How teachers can make a
difference. English Journal, 96(4), 79–85.
Lo, J., & Hyland, F. (2007). Enhancing students’ engagement and motivation in writing: The
case of primary students in Hong Kong. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16(4), 219–237.
Malinowski, B. (1923). The problem of meaning in primitive languages. In C. K. Ogden & I.
A. Richards (Eds.), The meaning of meaning (pp. 146-152). London: Routledge.
Markee, N. (1997). Managing curricular innovation. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Nguyen, N. T. (2011). Syllabus negotiation: A case study in a tertiary EFL context in Vi
etnam. Language Education in Asia.2 (1), 71-91. Retrived March 20, 2013 from http://dx.doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/11/V2/I1/A06/Nguyen
Nunan, D. (1988). Syllabus design. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nunan, D. (1994). Syllabus design. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nunan, D. (1999). Second language teaching and learning (pp.73). Boston, MA: Heinle &
Heinle.
Pajares, F., Miller, M. D., & Johnson, M. J. (1999). Gender differences in writing self-
efficacy beliefs of elementary school students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 50-61.
Pajares, F., & Valianate, G. (2006). Self-efficacy beliefs and motivation in writing
development. In C.A. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research, 158-170. New York: Guildford Press.
Pienemann, M. (1985). Learnability and syllabus construction. In K. Hyltenstam and M.
Pienemann (eds), Modelling and assessing second language acquisition. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 23-75.
Quintana, J. (2003). PET practice tests. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rabbini, R. (2002). An introduction to syllabus design and evaluation. TESL Journal, 8, 1-6.
Riddle, N. (2000). A matter of negotiation. Retrieved December 5, 2009, from http://www.
Negotiation.com/. html.
Routman, R. (1991). Invitations. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Ryden, M. B. (1978). An adult version of the Coopersmith self-esteem inventory:
Psychological Reports, 43, 1189–1190. Copyright © 1978 Muriel Ryden. R.
Tuan, L. T. (2011). Negotiating tasks in EFL classrooms. Journal of Language Teaching and
Research, 2(1), 13-25.
Yang, J. C., Ko, H. W., & Chung, I. L. (2005). Web-based interactive writing environment:
development and evaluation. Educational Technology & Society, 8(2), 214–229.
