Another look at developing writing strategies questionnaire: The use of think-aloud protocol

Document Type : research article

Authors

1 English Department, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

2 English Department, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

This two-phase, exploratory mixed methods study aimed at first developing a questionnaire, then investigating the relation between writing ability and writing strategy use. To this end, a think-aloud protocol was used to elicit the themes from five high achievers MA TEFL students’ writing strategies. Then, the developed 52-item questionnaire was administered to a sample of 100 Iranian EFL learners to pilot its validity. Next, having gained confidence in its reliability (α=0.85) and construct validity, the questionnaire was distributed among a sample of 60 MA students from the same target population, both male and female, ranging in age from 25 to 30 years old. The results suggested a positive correlation between students' scores in their advanced writing course and their strategies used (r = 0.49). The results revealed that students with a better understanding of metacognitive strategies could obtain better results. Thus, the findings account for the fact that being a cognitive process itself, writing skill can be boosted provided that the strategies of the same nature are reinforced and practiced.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Foreign Language Research
Volume 8, Issue 1
August 2018
Pages 57-82

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