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研究生: 蔡必箴
Tsai, Pi-chen
論文名稱: 不同寫作題型、英語文能力和寫作焦慮對高中生英文寫作之影響
The Effects of Types of Rhetorical Tasks, English Proficiency, and Writing Anxiety on Senior High School Students’English Writing Performance
指導教授: 程玉秀
Cheng, Yuh-Show
學位類別: 碩士
Master
系所名稱: 英語學系
Department of English
論文出版年: 2008
畢業學年度: 96
語文別: 英文
論文頁數: 94
中文關鍵詞: 英文寫作寫作文體英語文能力寫作焦慮
英文關鍵詞: English writing, rhetorical task, English proficiency, writing anxiety
論文種類: 學術論文
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  • 英文寫作是台灣的大學入學考試必考之項目,但學測和指考所著重的方向卻不盡相同。根據大考中心所頒布的考試說明,學測英文寫作的主要題型為敘事文;而指考則著重說明文。為了更了解大考英文寫作題型的差異和先後順序的安排,本研究以調查兩種寫作題型對高中生英文寫作表現之影響為目標;此外,學生的英語文能力和寫作焦慮的程度是否會和不同寫作題型有交互作用,學生對英文寫作的看法,也被列為探討的範圍中。本研究以四班學生為實驗對象,男生有七十七人,女生有七十四人。施測內容包括:兩種題型的英文寫作測驗、緊接在寫作測驗後的問卷、濃縮版的中級外語測驗、第二外語寫作焦慮量表和背景資料問卷。

    研究結果顯示雖然大部分實驗對象偏好敘事文且覺得說明文比敘事文難度更高,但這兩種不同的英文寫作題型對實驗對象的英文寫作表現無顯著差異,而英文寫作題型、實驗對象的英語文能力和寫作焦慮,兩兩並無交互作用。不過,英語文能力的優劣和寫作焦慮的高低,分別對學生的英文寫作表現有顯著的影響。兩種不同的寫作題型對低寫作焦慮組的英文寫作表現有顯著影響,他們的敘事文得分高於說明文。除此之外,學生抱怨單字和文法的使用是他們英文寫作上所遭遇的兩大難題。本研究的結果可作為大考中心檢視英文寫作測驗發展的參考,也可供英文老師精進寫作教學活動的設計。

    English writing tests are a designated section in Scholastic Academic English Test (SAET) and Department Required English Test (DRET) in Taiwan, but the types of writing tasks utilized in SAET and DRET are slightly different. According to the College Entrance Examination Center (CEEC), narrative writing skill is the main concern of SAET, while expository writing skill is the major focus of DRET. To understand whether the designated order of writing tasks in the entrance exams is necessary, this study investigated the effect of task type—narrative task and expository task—on senior high school students’ English writing performance. In addition, two other factors, the students’English proficiency level and their writing anxiety degree, were also considered to test whether each of them interacts with task type in influencing writing quality. Students’opinions about different types of writing tasks were explored as well. The participants contained four intact classes, including 77 male students and 74 female students. All of them were required to complete the two writing tasks under a testing condition. Immediately after they finished their essay writing, they had to respond to a post-writing questionnaire. In addition, their English proficiency levels were assessed via a shortened version of intermediate-Foreign Language Proficiency Test (FLPT), their writing anxiety degrees were measured by Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI), and their perceptions about English writing were probed through a background questionnaire.

    The results demonstrate that most of the participants preferred narrative writing to expository writing, and they considered narrative writing much easier than expository writing. But quantitative analyses show that the two types of rhetorical tasks did not account for the variation in the participants’writing performance. Besides, no significant interaction between the types of the tasks and the proficiency levels or the writing anxiety levels was found. However, English proficiency and writing anxiety each had significant influence on the quality of their writing. The high-intermediate group outperformed the low-intermediate group both in the narrative writing and the expository writing, and the low writing anxiety group surpassed the high anxiety group in the two writing tasks. Interestingly, the effect of the type of rhetorical task was significant in the low anxiety group, who performed better in the narrative task. Furthermore, based on the participants’ responses to the questionnaires, vocabulary and grammar were two major areas that impeded their delivery of thought. The findings of this thesis, on the one hand, suggest CEEC should re-consider the designated order of administering narrative task and expository task in the entrance exams. On the other hand, the findings offer some implications for English teachers to design a more wholesome writing course for learners of different needs.

    Abstract(Chinese) i Abstract(English) ii Acknoledgements iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGUIRES viii Chapter I : Introduction 1 Rationale and Background 1 Research Questions 9 The Significance of the Study 10 Definition of Key Terms 10 Chapter II : Literature Review 12 Overview of Writing Assessments 12 Writing Tests in Some Important English Language Tests 14 Design of Writing Tasks in SAT Reasoning Test 15 Design of Writing Tasks in PET of Cambridge ESOL Exams 15 Design of Writing Tasks in GEPT at Intermediate Level in Taiwan 16 Design of Writing Tasks in College Entrance Exams in Taiwan 17 Research on Writing Tasks 18 Components of Writing Tasks 20 Theoretical Categorization of Rhetorical Tasks 21 The Effects of Types of Rhetorical Tasks 23 General Language Proficiency and Writing Performance 28 Research on Writing Anxiety 30 Anxiety 30 Foreign Language Anxiety 31 Writing Anxiety 32 Chapter III : Method 35 Participants 35 Instruments 36 Foreign Language Proficiency Test 36 Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory 38 Background Questionnaire 39 Writing Task 40 Post-Writing Questionnaire 41 Data Collection Procedures 42 Pilot Study 42 Formal Study 44 Scoring Procedures for Writing 45 Data Analysis Procedures 47 Chapter IV : Results and Discussion 49 Analyses of Task Effect on Learners’ Writing Performance 49 Analyses of Different Proficiency Groups’ Writing Task Performance 49 Analyses of Different Anxiety Groups’ Writing Task Performance 51 Analyses of the Post-Writing Questionnaires 53 Post-Writing Questionnaire Affiliated to the Narrative Task 54 Post-Writing Questionnaire Affiliated to the Expository Task 56 Analyses of the Background Questionnaire 59 Discussion 63 The Effect of Types of Rhetorical Tasks 64 The Effect of English Proficiency 65 The Effect of Writing Anxiety 66 Chapter V : Conclusions 68 Summary of Major Findings 68 Pedagogical Implications 70 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research 72 References 75 Appendices 84 Appendix A: Shortened Version of FLPT 84 Appendix B: Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory 89 Appendix C: Background Questionnaire 90 Appendix D: Writing Tasks in the Current Study 92 Appendix E: Post-Writing Questionnaire 94

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