EFL Learner’s Evaluation of Writing Tasks in Iran’s TOEFL and IELTS Preparation Courses in Light of the Process-oriented Approach

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran

2 Tarbiat Modares University of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to analyze EFL writing tasks in two of the most popular English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) exam preparation courses in Iran, namely IELTS and TOEFL. Having collected the criteria of writing task appropriateness in light of the process-oriented approach to writing instruction, we asked 60 learner participants to rate EFL writing tasks in 3 IELTS and 3 TOEFL preparation classes based on a checklist previously gathered and validated. The findings produced significant differences in terms of several features of writing task appropriateness. An observation process was conducted of the actual task performance in the target classes to explain the significant differences between the two groups. A two-sample t-test was later employed to evaluate the differences between the mean scores of ratings in the two groups while the p-level was set at .05. 

Keywords


Annenberg, M. (2007). Teaching foreign language writing, available at: http://www.learner.org/workshops/tfl/resources/s3_teachingwriting 2.
Bichelmeyer, B. (2003). Checklist for formatting checklists, available at:  http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr.
Bruton, A. (2005). “Process writing and communicative task based instruction: Many common features but more common limitations?”, TESL-EJ, 9(3), pp. 1-31.
Cumming, A., Grant, L., Mulcahy-Ernt, P., and Powers, D. (2004). “A teacher-verification study of speaking and writing prototype tasks for a new TOEFL”, Language Testing, 21(2), pp. 107-145.
Cumming, A., Kantor, R., Baba, K., Erdosy, U., Eouanzoui, K., and James, M. (2005). “Differences in written discourse in independent and integrated prototype tasks for next generation TOEFL”, Assessing Writing, 10, pp.5-43.
Denzin, N. K., and Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, Sage Publications Inc.
Elbow, P. (1998). Writing with Power, US: Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R. (2006). “The methodology of task-based teaching”, The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly, 8(3), pp.19-45.
Experts in Language Assesment (2009). Cambridge ESOL certificates, available at: http://www.cambridgeesol.org.
Ferris, D., and Hedgcock, J. (2005). Teaching ESL Composition: Purpose, Process and Practice, UK: Routledge.
Frankenberg-Garcia, A. (1999). “Providing student writers with pre-text feedback”, ELT Journal, 53, pp.100-106.
Holmes, N. (2006). The use of a process-oriented approach to facilitate the planning and production stages of writing for adult students of English as a foreign or second language, available at: http://www.developingteachers.com.
Jones, N., and Shaw, S. (2003). “Task difficulty in the assessment of writing: Comparing performance across three levels of CELS”, Research Notes, 11, pp. 11-15.
Lee, G., and Schallert, D. L. (2008). “Meeting in the margins: Effetcs of the teacher-student relationship on revision processes of EFL college students taking a composition course”, Journal of Second Language Writing, 17, pp.165-182.
Lee, Y. W., and Kantor, R. (2005). “Dependability of new ESL test scores: Evaluating prototype tasks and alternative rating schemes”,­ TOEFL Monograph Series, 31, pp. 1-86.
Massi, M. P. (2001). “Interactive writing in the EFL class: A repertoire of tasks”, The Internet TESL Journal,7(6).
Matsuda, P. (2003). “Second language writing in the twentieth century: A situated historical perspective”, in Kroll, B. (ed.) Exploring the Dynamics of Second Language Writing, Cambridge: Cambridge Applied Linguistics Series, pp. 15-34.
Miao, Y., Badger, R., and Zhen, Y. (2006). “A comparative study of peer and teacher feedback in a Chinese EFL writing class”, Journal of Second Language Writing, 15,pp. 179-200.
Mickan, P., and Motteram, J. (2008). “An ethnographic study of classroom instruction in an IELTS preparation program”, IELTS Australia Publication, 8(1). (From IELTS Research Abstracts, 2008, Abstract No. 1).
Milanovic, M. (2009). “Cambridge ESOL and the CEFR”, Research Notes, 37, pp. 2-5.
MIT Online Writing and Communication Centre. (1999). The writing process, available at: http://web.mit.edu/writing/Writing_Process.
Muller, T. (2006). “Researching the influence of target language on learner task performance”, The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly, 8(3). 165-173.
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. (2004). Stages of the writing process, available at: http://www.ncrel.org.
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ojima, M. (2006). “Concept mapping as pre-task planning: A case study of three Japanese ESL writers”, System, 34, pp. 566-585.
Oxford, R. (2006). “Task-based language teaching and learning: An overview”, The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly, 8 (3), pp. 94-121.
Ozagac, O. (2004). Process writing, available at: http://www.buowl.boun.edu.tr.
Paulus, T. M. (1999). “The effect of peer and teacher feedback on student writing”, Journal of Second Language Writing, 8(3), pp. 265-289.
Potter, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Purude University Writing Lab. (2007). The writing process [Microsoft PowerPoint presentation], available at: http://owl.english.purude.edu.
Rao, C., McPherson, K., Chand, R., and Khan, V. (2003). “Assessing the impact of IELTS preparation programs on candidates’ performance on the general training reading and writing test module”, IELTS Australia Publication, 5(5), (From IELTS Research Abstracts, 2003, Abstract No. 5).
Sasaki, M. (2000). “Toward an empirical model of EFL writing processes: An exploratory study”, Journal of Second Language Writing, 9(3), pp. 256-291.
Scriven, M. (2000). The logic and methodology of checklists, available at: http://www.wmich.edu/avalctr/checklists.
Segev-Miller, R. (2004). “Writing from sources: The effect of explicit instruction on college students’ processes and products”, L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 4, pp.5-33.
Stufflebeam, D. L. (2000). Guidelines for developing evaluation checklists: the checklist development checklist (CDC), available at: http://www.wmich.edu/ avalctr/checklists.
Trupe, A. L. (2001). A process approach to writing, available at: http://www.bridgewater.edu/WritingCenter/Resources/Process.htm.
Walsh, M. (2004). Process writing in high school EFL: What, how and why, available at: http://www.geocities.jp/walsh_sensei/