Sources of Foreign Language Writing Anxiety in English Majors at The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

master's thesis

• Author: Zvonimira Korenika
• Mentor: Renata Geld (mentor)
• Committee member: Stela Letica Krevelj (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Jasenka Čengić (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Renata Geld (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2019-09-16, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

This thesis addresses the topic of foreign language writing anxiety. It reports on a study conducted on a group of second-year undergraduate and a group of first-year graduate Croatian English major students from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, which had two aims. The primary aim of the study was to find out whether there are any differences between the two groups regarding sources of foreign language writing anxiety while writing research papers in English. Another aim was to investigate the students‟ writing experience within the context of their university studies. The instrument that was used contained questions regarding their previous writing experience and a questionnaire on sources of foreign language writing anxiety experienced while writing research papers in English. The study has shown that there are courses in which students receive instruction on academic writing; however, this instruction needs to be improved. As regards the sources of foreign language writing anxiety, it was found that the biggest source of anxiety for the entire sample were the instructor and grades. When comparing the two groups of participants it was found that the only difference between the two groups was also in this category, that is, the undergraduates experienced higher levels of anxiety due to the instructor and the grades than the graduates.

Abstract (croatian)

Ovaj diplomski rad bavi se temom straha od pisanja na stranom jeziku. U radu je prikazano istraživanje provedeno na grupi studenata 2. godine preddiplomskog i grupi studenata 1. godine diplomskog studija anglistike na Filozofskom fakultetu koje je imalo dva cilja. Prvi cilj je bio otkriti postoje li razlike u izvorima straha od pisanja pri pisanju seminarskih radova na engleskom jeziku izmeĎu tih dviju grupa. Drugi cilj je bio istražiti njihova iskustva s pisanjem tijekom studija. Instrument korišten u istraživanju sastojao se od pitanja vezanih uz prethodno iskustvo s pisanjem i upitnika o izvorima straha od pisanja na stranom jeziku pri pisanju seminarskih radova na engleskom jeziku. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da na fakultetu postoje kolegiji na kojima se studenti podučavaju akademskom pisanju, ali da se poduka treba poboljšati. Što se tiče izvora straha od pisanja otkriveno je da su najveći izvori straha kategorija nastavnik i ocjene. Usporedivši dvije grupe ispitanika u izvorima strahova otkriveno je da je jedina razlika pronaĎena takoĎer u toj istoj kategoriji. Studenti preddiplomskog studija osjećali su veći strah od studenata diplomskog studija

• Keywords: writing anxiety; academic writing; writing instruction; English majors
• Keywords (croatian): strah od pisanja; akademsko pisanje; podučavanje pisanja; studenti anglistike
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:558359
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation, TEFL; Course: TEFL; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra edukacije engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra edukacije engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Access restricted to students and staff of home institution
• Created on: 2019-09-20 17:00:45