Abstract
The curriculum for teaching undergraduate university students in Iran majoring in English generally includes paragraph writing in the second year and essay writing (4–5 paragraphs) in the third year. The first-year course ‘Grammar and Writing (I & II)’ offered in two consecutive semesters covers grammar only, despite the inclusion of writing in the title, and rarely goes beyond sentence-level writing in support of the newly taught grammar. This one-year delay in focusing on writing per se has been a source of frustration for those students who have to deal with the demanding writing tasks or large-scale written assignments such as extended essays and papers later during their academic or professional life. The current study describes and evaluates a teaching intervention for the potential development of a writing curriculum in first-year writing classes. A pre-test–post-test control group design was employed to compare the effect of the writing instruction within the process genre approach with that of the traditional grammar and sentence-level writing on the fluency, accuracy and quality of students’ (n = 68) paragraph and essay writing during two consecutive semesters. Findings from the tests and a focus group discussion revealed that students in the treatment group outperformed their control group counterparts at both paragraph and essay levels. The findings could inspire similar EFL programmes to design a writing curriculum and instruction commensurate with the real needs of their students.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdollahzadeh, E. (2010). Undergraduate Iranian EFL learners’ use of writing strategies. Writing and Pedagogy, 2(1), 65–90.
Al-Jarrah, S. R., & Al-Ahmad, S. (2013). Writing instruction in Jordan: Past, present, and future trends. System, 41, 84–94.
Atai, M. R., & Mazlum, F. (2012). English language teaching curriculum in Iran: Planning and practice. The Curriculum Journal, 21(2), 123–140.
Azar, B. S., & Stacy A. H. (2009). Understanding and using English grammar (4th ed.). New York: Pearson Longman.
Badger, R., & White, G. (2000). A process genre approach to teaching writing. ELT Journal, 54(2), 153–160.
Birjandi, P., & Hadidi Tamjid, N. (2012). The role of self-, peer and teacher assessment in promoting Iranian EFL learners’ writing performance. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 37(5), 513–533.
Byrnes, H. (2013). Positioning writing as meaning-making in writing research: An introduction. Journal of Second Language Writing, 22, 95–106.
Carson, J., & Leki, I. (Eds.). (1993). Reading in the composition classroom: Second language perspectives. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Carter, R. (2003). Key concepts in ELT: Language awareness. ELT Journal, 57(1), 64–65.
Casanave, C. (2009). Training for writing or training for reality? Challenges facing EFL writing teachers and students in language teacher education programs. In R. Manchón (Ed.), Writing in foreign language contexts: Learning, teaching, and research (pp. 256–277). Buffalo: Multilingual Matters.
Cumming, A., Kantor, R., Baba, K., Erdosy, U., Eoanzoui, K., & James, M. (2005). Differences in writing discourse in independent and integrated prototype tasks for next generation TOEFL. Assessing Writing, 10, 5–43.
Deng, X. (2007). A pedagogical response to the different approaches to the teaching of ESL/EFL essay writing. STETS Language & Communication Review, 6(1), 15–20.
Ellis, R., & Barkhuizen, G. (2005). Analyzing learner language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ferris, D. R., & Hedgcock, J. S. (1998). Teaching ESL composition: Purpose, process, and practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Flower, L., & Hayes, J. (1981). A cognitive process theory of writing. College Composition and Communication, 32(1), 365–387.
Grabe, W., & Kaplan, R. (1996). Theory and practice of writing. An applied linguistic perspective. London: Longman.
Hirose, K. (2003). Comparing L1 and L2 organizational patterns in the argumentative writing of Japanese EFL students. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12(2), 181–209.
Hirvela, A. (2004). Connecting reading and writing in second language writing instruction. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.
Hyland, K. (2003). Second language writing. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Hyland, K. (2007). Genre pedagogy: Language, literacy and L2 writing instruction. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16(3), 148–164.
Jarvis, S., Grant, L., Bikowski, D., & Ferris, D. (2003). Exploring multiple profiles of highly rated learner compositions. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12(4), 377–403.
Kim, Y., & Kim, J. (2005). Teaching Korean university writing class: Balancing the process and the genre approach. Asian EFL Journal, 7(2), 69–90.
Kormos, J. (2012). The role of individual differences in L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 21, 390–403.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2009). Adjusting expectations: The study of complexity, accuracy, and fluency in second language acquisition. Applied Linguistics, 30(4), 579–589.
Lee, I. (2011). Formative assessment in EFL writing: An exploratory case study. Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education, 18(1), 99–111.
Lee, I. (2013). Becoming a writing teacher: Using ‘‘identity’’ as an analytic lens to understand EFL writing teachers’ development. Journal of Second Language Writing, 22, 330–345.
Manchón, R. M. (2011). Writing to learn the language: Issues in theory and research. In R. M. Manchón (Ed.), Learning-to-write and writing-to-learn in an additional language (pp. 61–82). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Min, H. T. (2009). A principled eclectic approach to teaching EFL writing in Taiwan. Bulletin of Educational Research, 55(1), 63–95.
Rahimi, M. (2009). The role of teacher’s corrective feedback in improving Iranian EFL learners’ writing accuracy over time: Is learner’s mother tongue relevant? Reading and Writing, 22(2), 219–243.
Rahimi, M. (2013). Is training student reviewers worth its while? A study of how training influences the quality of students’ feedback and writing. Language Teaching Research, 17(1), 67–89.
Raimes, A. (1985). What unskilled ESL writers do as they write: A classroom study of composing. TESOL Quarterly, 19(2), 229–258.
Reichelt, M. (2009). A critical evaluation of writing teaching programmes in different foreign language settings. In R. M. Manchón (Ed.), Writing in foreign language contexts: Learning, teaching, and research (pp. 183–206). Buffalo, NY: Multilingual Matters.
Sasaki, M. (2000). Toward an empirical model of EFL writing processes: An exploratory study. Journal of Second Language Writing, 9(3), 259–291.
Seidlhofer, B. (2005). English as a lingua franca. ELT Journal, 59, 339–341.
Silva, T. (1990). Second language composition instruction: Developments, issues, and directions in ESL. In B. Kroll (Ed.), Second language and writing (pp. 11–23). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Truscott, J. (2007). The effect of error correction on learners’ ability to write accurately. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16(4), 255–272.
Williams, J. (2012). The potential role(s) of writing in second language development. Journal of Second Language Writing, 21, 321–331.
Yang, M., Badger, R., & Yu, Z. (2006). A comparative study of peer and teacher feedback in a Chinese EFL writing class. Journal of Second Language Writing, 15, 179–200.
Zare-ee, A. (2009). The effects of teaching genre moves on EFL learners’ performance in letter writing. Pazhuhesh-e Zabanha-ye Khareji, 49, 43–64.
Zhang, C. (2013). Effect of instruction on ESL students’ synthesis writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 22, 51–67.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
A modular instructional writing model within the process genre approach.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Naghdipour, B., Koç, S. The Evaluation of a Teaching Intervention in Iranian EFL Writing. Asia-Pacific Edu Res 24, 389–398 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-014-0191-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-014-0191-4