Considering the process approach to improve children s writing development in efl

Abstract

This action research study focused on the analysis of children?s writing development in EFL, taking into consideration their personal interests. This was achieved by focusing on topics that are appealing to the students, and using different types of compositions such as letters, e-mails, stories, etc. The type of study was an action research and it was grounded on the theory of the process approach. Hayes and Flower (1980) describe the process approach in terms of the task environment, which include the writing assignment and the text produced so far, the writer?s long-term memory, including knowledge of topic, knowledge of audience, and stored writing plans, and a number of cognitive processes, including planning, translating thought into text and revising. The 23 children who took part in the study were between 9 and 13 years old, and they were in the Intermediate English Level at Universidad Pedagógica Nacional. The aim was to examine the effect that the process approach had on students? writing performance. Furthermore, underlying this aim was the opportunity to motivate students towards writing, and also to help them improve their productions. The data were gathered through the use of portfolios, conferences, journals and logs and the results showed that the students changed their prior negative perceptions on writing in EFL and felt motivated to carry out writing tasks in order to keep improving this skill. They also learned to work cooperatively, self-monitored, and created self-awareness of their writing practices