The Role of Writing Anxieties on Second Language Writing Deficiencies in a Post-pandemic Environment

Abstract

This study aimed to answer two questions concerning second language writing regarding sustainable education in the post-pandemic world. Participants included native speakers of Arabic in an English-language written communication course returning to on-campus instruction. We examined whether early exposure to English, particularly English-language writing, predicts diminished anxiety. Aspects of anxiety examined included somatic anxiety manifestations, avoidance behavior, and cognitions such as appraisal concerns and communication apprehension. We also assessed whether anxiety predicts specific writing deficits. Participants completed a writing-anxiety questionnaire, answered questions about their exposure to English prior to this class, and their attitudes toward writing in English. Participants wrote a brief paragraph responding to the query “Who am I?”. Overall anxiety increased with later exposure to English but decreased with exposure to English-speaking media and favorable attitudes toward English-language writing. Overall anxiety was linked to writing qualities such as increased use of concrete words and brevity. The forms of anxiety examined were differentially related to both measures of English exposure and attitudes as well as writing quality and quantity. These findings add to the existing literature on sustainable education by illustrating that anxiety manifests in different forms and that such forms may also selectively link to particular aspects of the writing process.

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Author Information
Arifi Mohammed Waked, Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University, Saudi Arabia
Reem Ahmad, Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University, Saudi Arabia
Amnah Alsaeed, Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University, Saudi Arabia
Maura Pilotti, Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University, Saudi Arabia

• Category: Learning Experiences, Student Learning & Learner Diversity

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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