The Effects of Portfolio Keeping on Writing Anxiety of EFL Students

Abstract

There has been a growing body of research which documents the importance of portfolios in foreign language teaching. The current study is an action research that investigates the effects of portfolio keeping on the writing anxiety of students. Two instructors working collaboratively aimed to overcome the writing anxiety of their students. They had a class of fifteen prospective teachers of English who were in their preparatory year in a foundation university, in Istanbul, Turkey. Data were gathered by means of the Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI) (Cheng, 2004), a background questionnaire and two reflective sessions. Findings of the study revealed that portfolio keeping is beneficial in terms of overcoming writing anxiety. The results also indicated that the experience with portfolios may affect the participants’ future teaching practices positively. Therefore; this study suggests that portfolio keeping deserves to be taken into consideration in the programme of Foreign Language Education Departments.

Keywords

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Öz

Yabancı dil eğitiminde portfolyonun önemini belgeleyen çok sayıda çalışma bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmada ise portfolyo tutmanın öğrencilerin yazma kaygısı üzerindeki etkileri bir eylem araştırmasıyla incelenmiştir. Çalışmaya İstanbul’da bulunan bir vakıf üniversitesinin hazırlık sınıfında eğitim görmekte olan onbeş İngilizce öğretmeni adayı katılmıştır. Çalışmanın verileri İkinci Dil Yazma Kaygı ölçütü (Cheng, 2004), bir artalan anketi ve iki adet yansıtma oturumu aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Çalışmanın bulguları yazma kaygısını gidermek bağlamında portfolyo tutmanın faydalı olduğunu ortaya çıkartmıştır. Bulgular ayrıca portfolyo tecrübesinin öğretmen adaylarının gelecekteki öğretim uygulamalarını olumlu etkileyebileceğini göstermiştir. Bu nedenle, bu çalışma portfolyo tutmanın yabancı diller eğitimi bölümlerinde göz önüne alınması gerektiğini önermektedir

Anahtar Kelimeler

• portfolyo, yazma kaygısı, eylem araştırması, yabancı dil öğretimi

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64. Research Assistant Hande ÖZTÜRK Maltepe University
65. Faculty of Education Istanbul, Turkey
66. E-mail address: [e-mail]
67. Second author: Research Assistant Sevdeğer ÇEÇEN Maltepe University
68. Faculty of Education Istanbul, Turkey
69. E-mail address: [e-mail]