This study explored the impact of incorporating interactive elements of YouTube, such as commenting and engagement, within social media-integrated writing activities. The aim was to examine how this approach influences the writing anxiety and writing performance of Korean English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. The participants, all of whom…

This study explores possible benefits of freewriting for EFL students' writing anxiety and fluency. Thirty university students who were enrolled in an academic writing class participated in the study. Pre- and post-writing anxiety surveys, freewritings, pre- and post-essays, and student reflections were collected as data. The study found that EFL…

Writing skills are imperative for students in any career; however, many students have acknowledged avoiding courses that emphasize writing. These same students fail to learn proper mechanics during their post-secondary education. Writing intensive courses have served as a place where students have the opportunity to improve confidence, minimize…

This study investigated the effect of cooperative learning on writing anxiety alleviation through a pre-test/post-test assessment. 120 EFL learners from a Chinese polytechnic institute were assigned into two groups: one experimental (cooperative writing) and the other comparison (solitary writing). Results revealed that cooperative learning…

This study examined the effects of collaborative blended learning writing environment on students' writing apprehension and writing performance as perceived by a selected group of EFL students enrolled in one of the international schools in Malaysia. Qualitative case study method was employed using semi-structured interview, learning diaries and…

Academics experience difficulty in managing competing tasks, particularly in relation to writing for publication. In a study conducted on a writing retreat, analysis of data obtained from academic writers revealed that facilitative leadership provided at a writing retreat was central to managing task complexity and writing-related anxiety. The…

The purpose of this paper is to define writing apprehension, describe the writing apprehension of 91 secondary preservice teachers of diverse subject areas, in a required content area literacy course, and explain how their writing apprehension was reduced significantly by authoring a "how-to" book. The "how-to" book assignment is explained and…

Presents 11 strategies writing teachers can use to alleviate writing apprehension and to encourage student writers to feel confident about revealing their thoughts in writing. (SR)

Discusses five things which help the author (herself a reluctant writer) to push past her own doubts, and notes how they are helpful in working with students who are reluctant to write. (SR)

Argues that nontraditional students need special assistance in coming to believe that they have something valuable to say and in learning to express it with authority. Discusses the complicated nature and causes of the silences of nontraditional students, and describes numerous things that can be done to lessen fear and resistance in the writing…

Combining the practical lessons of clinical practice and the literature of the disciplines of composition theory and psychology, this book merges what writers say about writing with what researchers and scholars say in a way that helps both experienced and inexperienced writers at the writing desk. The writers depicted in the book are comprised of…

A program evaluation was undertaken at Southern Illinois University (Carbondale) to assess the broad, measurable effects of using computers to teach introductory college composition. Twenty-four classes were studied--twelve control classes and twelve experimental--with the experimental computer classes meeting in the lab for half of their…

Describes ways to help students of all ages with writing apprehension, including write more; discourage appropriation of voice; listen to fearful writers; find patterns in students' errors; conference during drafting stages; coach peers for effective response; encourage positive self-talk; be aware of possible gender differences; vary writing…

Discusses ways to bolster first-year student writers' confidence in themselves. Provides a needs-assessment tool for high school and college instructors. (RS)

While the roots of students' fear of writing go deep, students fear most the surface of writing. They fear that a person's language indicates the state not only of the mind but of the soul--thus their writing can make them look stupid and morally depraved. This fear of error and lack of confidence prevent students from developing a command of the…