THE WHAT AND HOW ARE INDEPENDENT WRITING STRATEGIES IN ENGLISH DEPARTMENT STUDENTS: A SURVEY STUDY
Abstract
As nurturing efficient classroom practice is always the teachers’ goal in language learning-teaching, learning strategies are provided for students. In this present study, independent writing activities are addressed to English Department students to enable them to perform writing skills as being independent is the final goal of writing skills. This study was conducted through a survey involving 33 students from a state university in Malang, aiming at exploring the students’ independent strategies in writing skills. This study employed two instruments consisting of a closed-ended questionnaire comprising 22 questions and a semi-structured interview comprising three questions, respectively. The students involved in the interview were three students, and the subjects were saturated since their responses were almost the same. The instruments were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively to find the percentages of the strategies in use and the deep students’ responses using thematic analysis. Using the instruments, this present study reported that the students employed three strategies: pre-writing, writing, and revising. The students confirmed that three strategies were undergone in pre-writing, comprising resourcing, outlining, and elaborating. The second strategy, writing, referred to re-reading the writing plans and the draft composed during writing occurred. The last strategy was revising, as students underwent both re-arranging and re-concepting after self-checking their writing products. Therefore, the study affirmed that the employed strategies benefit the students in coping with the complexity of writing skills. Finally, the study will theoretically document the students’ strategies in initial planning until composing texts. Therefore, the study recommended further studies to gradually and deeply investigate the students’ writing strategies in independent settings to uncover to what extent the writing strategies were well passed by the students.References
Abas, I. H., & Abd Aziz, N. H. (2016). Classification of L2 Writing Process and Writing Strategies. Proceedings of The ICECRS, 1(1), 367–380. https://doi.org/10.21070/picecrs.v1i1.505
Aripin, N., & Hanim Rahmat, N. (2021). Metacognitive Writing Strategies Model Used by ESL Writers in the Writing Process: A Study Across Gender. International Journal of Asian Social Science, 11(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.18488/journal.1.2021.111.1.9
Awan, S., Anwar, R. H., & Zaki, S. (2021). Impact of writing strategy instruction on the writing performance of undergraduate EAP learners in Pakistan. VFAST Transactions on Education and Social …, 9(3), 69–80. https://vfast.org/journals/index.php/VTESS/article/view/624
Bloom, M. (2008). Second language composition in independent settings: Supporting the writing process with cognitive strategies. In Language Learning Strategies in Independent Settings. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847690999-008
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Candy, P. (1991). Self-Direction for Lifelong Learning.
Cohen, A. D. (2014). Strategies in learning and using a second language. In Strategies in Learning and Using a Second Language. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315833200
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research (Fourth Edi). Pearson Education.
Dari, R. W., Rahmawati, E., Akhiriyah, S., Lecturer, E., & Surabaya, U. N. (2022). An Analysis of Writing Strategies Used by Students of English Language Department. 10(3), 414–423.
Demir, S. (2018). The Relation between the Awareness Level of Writing Strategies and Writing Self-Efficacy. International Education Studies, 11(5), 59. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v11n5p59
Eliwarti, E., & Maarof, N. (2017). The Students’ Perceptions of the Strategies in the Process Approach. International Journal of Educational Best Practices, 1(1), 67. https://doi.org/10.31258/ijebp.v1n1.p67-82
Flower, L., & Hayes, J. R. (1981). A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing. College Composition and Communication, 32(4), 365. https://doi.org/10.2307/356600
Gholami, J., & Alinasab, M. (2017). Source-based tasks in writing independent and integrated essays. International Journal of Instruction, 10(3), 127–142. https://doi.org/10.12973/iji.2017.1039a
He, T. H. (2005). Effects of mastery and performance goals on the composition strategy use of adult EFL writers. Canadian Modern Language Review, 61(3), 407–431. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.61.3.407
Hyland, K. (2004). Genre and Second Language Writing. In Diane Belcher and Jun Liu (Ed.). The University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor.
Kellogg, R. T. (2008). Training writing skills: A cognitive developmental perspective. Journal of Writing Research, 1(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2008.01.01.1
Littlewood, W. (1997). Self-access: Why do we want it and what can it do? In Autonomy and Independence in Language Learning (pp. 79–92). Longman.
Long, M. (2015). Second Language Acquisition and Task-Based Language Teaching. In John Wiley and Sons, Inc. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269107473_What_is_governance/link/548173090cf22525dcb61443/download%0Ahttp://www.econ.upf.edu/~reynal/Civil wars_12December2010.pdf%0Ahttps://think-asia.org/handle/11540/8282%0Ahttps://www.jstor.org/stable/41857625
Maharani, S., Fauziati, E., & Supriyadi, S. (2018). An Investigation of Writing Strategies Used by the Students on the Perspective Language Proficiency and Gender. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 5(5), 185. https://doi.org/10.18415/ijmmu.v5i5.364
Nosratinia, M., & Adibifar, S. (2014). The Effect of Teaching Metacognitive Strategies on Field-dependent and Independent Learners’ Writing. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 98, 1390–1399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.557
Park, J. H., & De Costa, P. (2015). Reframing graduate student writing strategies from an activity theory perspective. Language and Sociocultural Theory, 2(1), 25–50. https://doi.org/10.1558/lst.v2i1.24977
Raoofi, S., Binandeh, M., & Rahmani, S. (2017). An investigation into writing strategies and writing proficiency of university students. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 8(1), 191–198. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0801.24
Sasaki, M. (2004). A multiple-data analysis of the 3.5-year development of EFL student writers. Language Learning, 54(3), 525–582. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0023-8333.2004.00264.x
Syahid, A. (2019). Writing strategies by beginning authors of academic genre. Journal on English as a Foreign Language, 9(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.23971/jefl.v9i1.952
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes ( and E. S. Michael Cole, Vera John-Stenier, Sylvia Scribner (ed.)).
White, C. (2008). Language learning strategies in independent language learning: An overview. Language Learning Strategies in Independent Settings, 3–24.
Zhang, L. J. & A. W. (2009). Chinese senior high school EFL students’ metacognitive awareness and.pdf. Chinese Senior High School EFL Students’ Metacognitive Awareness and Reading-Strategy Use, 21(1), 37–59.
THE AUTHOR
Siti Kholija Sitompul is a Master’s student of the State University of Malang (Universitas Negeri Malang) currently studying in English Language Education. She applied for an English Education study program for her undergraduate degree from the State University of Medan.
