Modelling strategy use for enhancing coherence in foreign language writing

Abstract

This research aimed at exploring the effect of implementing a model-text based instruction in promoting EFL students’ awareness of coherence and further improving their writing. It emphasised the importance of reading-writing connections, and suggested a remedial procedure that would help learners express themselves in better English. In order to explore the impact it is hypothesised that If second-year students at the Department of English at Laghouat University looked at finished pieces of writing (as models) and saw how ideas were constructed and developed, this would enhance their achievement of paragraph unity and connectedness in their written performance. To check the hypothesis, quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted. An experimental design, a questionnaire and follow-up questions were used. A sample of forty-six second-year university students of English at Laghouat University (Algeria) was randomly chosen. These students were divided into control and experimental groups of 23 students for each. Data were collected from in-class on an assigned topic on paragraph writing with comparison and contrast method of development. To compare the achievement of the two groups, a pre-test and a post-test were carried out. Students’ compositions were rated and analysed by the teacher of writing using an analytic scoring rubric for coherence traits. The treatment was followed by follow-up questions with the Experimental Group members who were asked about their experiences, opinions and how they handled modelling strategy. The results demonstrated that the treatment group achieved significant progress, with post-test scores which were higher than both their pre-test scores and post-test scores of the Control Group. The researcher validates the hypothesis (H1) and accepts that a model-based instruction has influenced positively EFL students’ paragraph writing achievements.