خلاصة:
Argumentative essays show how much a writer can implement his/her power to
convince the reader in favor of his desired intention. However, many writers might
encounter different types of challenges during the task of writing and wonder how to
overcome them. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of concept
mapping and brainstorming on the lexical and grammatical accuracy and writing
anxiety of Iranian EFL learners’ argumentative essays. In doing so, 90 male and
female students ranging from 17 to 35 in Iran National Language Institution (INLI)
in Tehran were selected through cluster sampling based on convenience. An essay
writing test and the second language writing anxiety inventory (SLWAI) were used
both as pre- and post-test. The students were randomly assigned to three equal
groups to experience different treatments in a 15-session semester. One group
received instruction through concept mapping, another group through brainstorming,
and the third group through conventional instruction. For data analysis, three
separate one-way ANCOVA procedures were used. The results showed that both
experimental groups did better than the control group. In lexical accuracy, the two
experimental groups had almost the same mean scores, but in grammatical accuracy
and writing anxiety, the concept mapping group obtained the highest mean followed
by the brainstorming group. The findings of the study can have useful implications
for teachers, students, material designers, and language assessors.
ملخص الجهاز:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of concept mapping and brainstorming on the lexical and grammatical accuracy and writing anxiety of Iranian EFL learners’ argumentative essays.
However, Zarei & Feizollahi/ Concept mapping and brainstorming affecting writing anxiety … 119 there is also research evidence suggesting that individual brainstorming may be more effective than group brainstorming (Bouchard, 1969; Bouchard & Hare, 1970; Campbell, 1968; Dunette, 1964; Dunette, Campbell & Jastaad, 1963; Fumbam, 2000; Putman & Paulus, 2009; Rietzschel, Nijstad & Stroebe, 2005).
The results of the ANCOVA procedure show significant differences among the effects of concept mapping, brainstorming, and conventional instruction on writing anxiety [F(2)= 79.
Discussion This study was aimed at investigating the effect of concept mapping and brainstorming strategy instruction on lexical and grammatical accuracy as well as writing anxiety of Iranian EFL students in argumentative essays.
5. Conclusion and Implications The findings of this study suggested that both concept mapping and brainstorming strategies are more effective than conventional teaching on improving writing accuracy and reducing writing anxiety.
Zarei & Feizollahi/ Concept mapping and brainstorming affecting writing anxiety … 139 The strategies used in this study were individual and group activities.
Moreover, the result of this study can help curriculum designers to design course books based on the concept mapping and brainstorming strategies to encourage students to write argumentative essays with fewer lexical and grammatical mistakes and lower writing anxiety References Agustin Llach, M.