TY  - JOUR
T1  - Handwriting Anxiety Scale for Turkish as a Foreign Language Learners: Validity and Reliability
TT  - Handwriting Anxiety Scale for Turkish as a Foreign Language Learners: Validity and Reliability
AU  - İskender Topaloğlu, Mülkiye Ezgi
AU  - Takkaç Tulgar, Ayşegül
AU  - Gücüyeter, Bahadır
AU  - Gürbüz, Nihal Elif
PY  - 2025
DA  - September
Y2  - 2025
DO  - 10.33418/education.1610713
JF  - Educational Academic Research
JO  - EAR
PB  - Ataturk University
WT  - DergiPark
SN  - 2822-3535
SP  - 29
EP  - 38
IS  - 58
LA  - en
AB  - This research aimed to develop a handwriting anxiety scale for students learning Turkish as a foreign language. Validity and reliability analyses were conducted on the scale developed for this purpose. At the beginning of the scale development process, an item pool consisting of 13 items was formed. In the next stage, data were collected with these items from 448 foreign students learning Turkish in the provinces of Istanbul, Erzurum, Sivas and Erzincan. The collected data underwent Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) using a statistical software package. Three items with factor loadings below .45 were removed. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was applied to verify the structure consisting of 10 items, which had 55.06% explained variance in a single factor. As a result of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis, fit index values were found as χ2 / sd = 2.069, SRMR = .03, RMSEA = .69, GFI = .94, AGFI = .90, CFI = .94, NFI = .95, TLI = .96. CR=.92 and AVE=.54 values were reached. In the analyses conducted for the scale's reliability, the Cronbach Alpha coefficient was .91, and with the split-half reliability method, this value was found to be .80 and .87. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the handwriting anxiety scale for students learning Turkish as a foreign language has a high level of validity and reliability compared to the criteria values given in the literature. Therefore, this scale can be utilized in future research on handwriting anxiety in foreign language learners.
KW  - Teaching Turkish as a foreign language
KW  - anxiety
KW  - scale development
KW  - handwriting
N2  - This research aimed to develop a handwriting anxiety scale for students learning Turkish as a foreign language. Validity and reliability analyses were conducted on the scale developed for this purpose. At the beginning of the scale development process, an item pool consisting of 13 items was formed. In the next stage, data were collected with these items from 448 foreign students learning Turkish in the provinces of Istanbul, Erzurum, Sivas and Erzincan. The collected data underwent Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) using a statistical software package. Three items with factor loadings below .45 were removed. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was applied to verify the structure consisting of 10 items, which had 55.06% explained variance in a single factor. As a result of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis, fit index values were found as χ2 / sd = 2.069, SRMR = .03, RMSEA = .69, GFI = .94, AGFI = .90, CFI = .94, NFI = .95, TLI = .96. CR=.92 and AVE=.54 values were reached. In the analyses conducted for the scale's reliability, the Cronbach Alpha coefficient was .91, and with the split-half reliability method, this value was found to be .80 and .87. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the handwriting anxiety scale for students learning Turkish as a foreign language has a high level of validity and reliability compared to the criteria values given in the literature. Therefore, this scale can be utilized in future research on handwriting anxiety in foreign language learners.
CR  - Ayaz, N. (2015). The effect of the Project-based learning approach on students’ academic achievements in a science lesson and their attitudes towards science lessons: A meta-analysis study (Publication No. 383512) [Masters’s thesis, Fırat University-Elazığ]. Council of Higher Education National Thesis Centre.
CR  - Akbulut, S. (2016). Attitudes and anxieties of Turkish as a foreign language learner towards writing (Publication No. 445688) [Master's thesis, Pamukkale University-Denizli]. Council of Higher Education National Thesis Centre.
CR  - Aksu, G., Eser, M.T., & Guzeller, C. O. (2017). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling applications. Detay Publishing.
CR  - Al-Saraj, T. (2011). Foreign language anxiety: What is it?. 4th Bloomsbury Student Conference in Applied Linguistics, Birkbeck College, University of London, UK.
CR  - Al-Sawalha, A. M. S., & Chow, T. V. V. (2012). The effects of writing apprehension in English on the writing process of Jordanian EFL students at Yarmouk University. International Interdisciplinary Journal of Education, 1(1), 6-14.
CR  - Aytan, N., & Tuncel, H. (2015). Turkish as a foreign language writing anxiety scale. Mustafa Kemal University Journal of Institute of Social Sciences, 12(30), 50-62.
CR  - Baris, H. (2019). Writing anxiety in teaching Turkish as a foreign language (Publication No.593080) [Doctoral thesis, Aydin University-İstanbul]. Council of Higher Education National Thesis Centre.
CR  - Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching (Vol. 4). Longman.
CR  - Bryman A, & Cramer D (2001): Quantitative data analysis with SPSS release 10 for Windows: A guide for social scientists. Routledge.
CR  - Buyukozturk, S. (2002). Factor analysis: Basic concepts and its use in scale development. Educational Administration in Theory and Practice, 32(32), 470-483.
CR  - Buyukozturk, S. (2019). Data analysis handbook for social sciences. Pegem Publications.
CR  - Cheng, Y. S., Horwitz, E. K., & Schallert, D. L. (1999). Language anxiety: Differentiating writing and speaking components. Language Learning, 49(3), 417-446. https://doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.00095
CR  - Cheng, Y. S. (2004). A measure of second language writing anxiety: Scale development and preliminary validation. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13, 313-335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2004.07.001
CR  - Comrey A. L. & Lee, H. B. (1992). A first course in factor analysis. Psychological Reports, 11, 15-18.
CR  - Daly, J. A., & Miller, M. D. (1975). The empirical development of an instrument to measure writing apprehension. Research in the Teaching of English, 9(3), 242-249.
CR  - DeVellis, R.F. (2012). Scale development: Theory and applications (3rd ed). Sage.
CR  - Ekmekci, E. (2018). Exploring Turkish EFL students’ writing anxiety. The Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal, 18(1), 158-175.
CR  - Erkorkmaz, U., Etikan, İ., Demir, O., Ozdamar, K., & Sanisoğlu, S. Y. (2013). Confirmatory factor analysis and fit indices. Türkiye Clinics Journal of Medical Sciences, 33(1), 210-223. https://doi.org/10.5336/medsci.2011-26747
CR  - Field, A. (2005). Discovering statistics using SPSS. Sage Publications.
CR  - Frantzen, D., & Magnan, S. S. (2005). Anxiety and the true beginner-false beginner dynamic in beginning French and Spanish classes. Foreign Language Annals, 38(2), 171-186. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2005.tb02483.x
CR  - Ghaleb, A. O. E. (2024). Script struggles: A psycholinguistic study of handwriting difficulties among EFL learners. World Journal of English Language, 15(1), 464-482. https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v15n1p464
CR  - Gurbuz, S. (2021). Structural Equation Modelling with AMOS: Basic principles and applied analyses. Seckin Publishing.
CR  - Horwitz, E. K. (2001). Language anxiety and achievement. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 21, 112– 126.
CR  - Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M., & Cope, J. A. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 70, 125-132.
CR  - Huwari, I. F., & Abd Aziz, N. H. (2011). Writing apprehension in English among Jordanian postgraduate students at University Utara Malaysia (UUM). Academic Research International, 1(2), 190-198.
CR  - İscan, A. (2015). An investigation on writing anxiety in teaching Turkish as a foreign language: The Case of Jordan University. Journal of Language and Literature Education, 3(14), 134-152. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v14n6p23
CR  - Jansen, M. P. (2024). Impostor Phenomenon Short Scale (IPSS-3): A novel measure to capture impostor feelings in large-scale and longitudinal surveys. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1358279
CR  - Jebreil, N., Azizifar, A., & Gowhary, H. (2015). Investigating the effect of anxiety of male and female Iranian EFL learners on their writing performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 185, 190-196.
CR  - Karagoz, Y. (2021). SPSS 23 and AMOS 23 applied statistical analyses. Nobel Academic Publishing.
CR  - Karakus-Taysi, E. (2018). Development of writing anxiety scale for Turkish language learners as a foreign language: Validity and reliability study. Turkish Journal of Social Research/Turkish Journal of Social Research, 22(4), 1033-1049. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.9n.2p.119
CR  - Karatay, H. (2020). Writing education in teaching Turkish as a foreign language. In H. Karatay (Ed.), Handbook of teaching Turkish as a foreign language, 411–471.
CR  - Kirmizi, O., & Kirmizi, G. D. (2015). An investigation of L2 learners' writing self-efficacy, writing anxiety and its causes at higher education in Turkey. International Journal of Higher Education, 4(2), 57-66.
CR  - Koksal, K. (2001) Teaching reading and writing. Pegem Publishing.
CR  - Liu, M., & Ni, H. (2015). Chinese university EFL learners' foreign language writing anxiety: Pattern, effect and causes. English Language Teaching, 8(3), 46-58.
CR  - MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1991). Methods and results in the study of anxiety and language learning: A review of the literature. Language Learning, 41(1), 85-117. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1991.tb00691.x
CR  - Maden, S., Dincel, O., & Maden, A. (2015). Writing anxieties of learners of Turkish as a foreign language. International Journal of Turkish Literature Culture Education (TEKE), 4(2) 748-769.
CR  - Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd. ed.). McGraw-Hill
CR  - Olivares-Cuhat, G. (2010). Relative importance of learning variables on L2 performance. Linguistik Online, 43, 99-116.
CR  - Ozbay, M., & Zorbaz, K. (2011). Adaptation of Daly-Miller's writing apprehension scale to Turkish/adaptation of Daly-Miller's writing apprehension test to Turkish. Mustafa Kemal University Journal of Institute of Social Sciences, 8(16), 33-48.
CR  - Ozdamar, K. (2017). Scale and test development structural equation modelling IBM SPSS, IBM SPSS AMOS and MINTAB applied. Nisan Bookstore.
CR  - Ozdemir, B. (2019). The investigation of the writing anxiety of those who learn Turkish as a foreign language according to various variables. Turkish Journal of Social Research, 23(2), 351-364. https://doi.org/10.31458/iejes.1291763
CR  - Pallant, J. (2017). SPSS user's guide Step by step data analysis with SPSS (2nd edition). (Balcı, S. & Ahi, B., translated ed.) Anı publishing. (The original of the study was published in 2016)
CR  - Polatcan, F. (2019). An examination of research on anxiety in teaching Turkish as a foreign language. Journal of Mother Tongue Education, 7(1), 205-216.
CR  - Rabadi, R. I., & Rabadi, A. D. (2020). Do medical students experience writing anxiety while learning English as a foreign language? Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 13, 883-893. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S276448
CR  - Rammstedt, B., & Beierlein, C. (2014). Can’t we make it any shorter? Journal of Individual Differences, 35(4), 212-220. https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001/a000141
CR  - Rasool, U., Qian, J., & Aslam, M. Z. (2023). An investigation of foreign language writing anxiety and its reasons among pre-service EFL teachers in Pakistan. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fpsyg.2022.947867
CR  - Sabti, A. A., Md Rashid, S., Nimehchisalem, V., & Darmi, R. (2019). The Impact of writing anxiety, writing achievement motivation, and writing self-efficacy on writing performance: A correlational study of Iraqi tertiary EFL Learners. SAGE Open,  9(4), 2-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019894289.
CR  - Saito, Y., Horwitz, E. K., & Garza, T.  J. (1999). Foreign language reading anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 83, 202-18.
CR  - Scherer, R.F., Wiebe, F.A., Luther, D.C., & Adams, J. S. (1988). Dimensionality of coping: Factor stability using the ways of coping questionnaire. Psychological Reports, 62(3), 763-770
CR  - Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Muller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 8(2), 23-74.
CR  - Syarifudin, S. (2020). Survey on EFL students’ writing anxiety: Level, types, and causes. Eralingua: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Asing Dan Sastra, 4(2), 1-22.
CR  - Sen, U., & Boylu, E. (2017). Development of writing anxiety scale for Turkish language learners as a foreign language. International Journal of Turkish Literature Culture Education (TEKE), 6(2), 1122-1132.
CR  - Sencan, H. (2014). Reliability and validity. Seckin Publishing.
CR  - Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2015). Use of multivariate statistics (translated by M. Baloglu). Nobel Publishing.
CR  - Tsiriotakis, I. K., Vassilaki, E., Spantidakis, I., & Stavrou, N. A. (2017). The examination of the effects of writing strategy-based procedural facilitative environments on students' English foreign language writing anxiety levels. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.02074
CR  - Vogely, A. J.  (1998).  Listening comprehension anxiety: Students’ reported sources and solutions. Foreign Language Annals, 31, 67-80.
CR  - Yaman, H. (2010). Writing anxiety of Turkish students: Scale development and the working procedures in terms of various variables. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 2(1), 267-289.
CR  - Yastibas, G. C., & Yastibas, A. E. (2015). The effect of peer feedback on writing anxiety in Turkish EFL (English as a foreign language) students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 199, 530-538.
CR  - Yaslioglu, M. M. (2017). Factor analysis and validity in social sciences: Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Istanbul University Journal of Business Faculty, 46, 74-85.
CR  - Young, D. J. (1999). Foreign language writing anxiety scale (FLWAS). In D. J. Young (Ed.), Affect in foreign language and second language learning: A practical guide to creating a low-anxiety classroom atmosphere (p. 257). McGraw Hill.
CR  - Zhang, L. J. (2001). Exploring variability in language anxiety: Two groups of PRC students learning ESL in Singapore. RELC Journal, 3P2(1), 73-91.
UR  - https://doi.org/10.33418/education.1610713
L1  - https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/4481867
ER  -