Writing Apprehension of Grade 12 HUMSS Students: Their Perspectives and

Suggested Measures for Teachers

Author’s Name and Affiliation:

Niña U. Tadiwan
Makabulos Memorial High School
San Fernando (Pob.), Victoria, Tarlac, 2313 Philippines
shinranrin@yahoo.com
(+63) 038-907-5666

Abstract─This study aims to determine the writing apprehension of Grade 12 HUMSS students.
It also investigates possible sources of English writing apprehension from the students’
perspectives and their suggested ways for English teachers to lessen it. The data came from the
survey instrument, the English Writing Apprehension/Attitude Test (Daly-Miller Test) modified
by Aljafen (2013) and from the two open-ended questions made by the researcher. The mixed-
method research design was used and checklists were distributed to the thirty (30) students of
HUMSS strand in a private school. The study’s results indicate that: the participants are
moderately anxious when it comes in English writing; lack of self-esteem is higher than past
education and teachers’ evaluation as their sole source of writing apprehension; and that, to
lessen it, English teachers are suggested to correct their writings in a good way as soon as
possible, boost their self-confidence and make writing activities as an interesting part of the
learning process.

Keywords: Second Language Writing Anxiety (SLWA), Writing anxiety, perspectives, HUMSS
students, anxiety, measures

1. Introduction
Writing is one of the demanding activities when it comes to language teaching and
learning. Aside from that, it is the highest skill in literacy most people needed in the educational
setting. Writing, as a complex process, is represented by textual features that entails language
proficiency, transmission of ideas, communication and interaction with people, as well as
appropriateness within diverse contexts (Flower & Hayes, 1981; Hayes & Flower, 1987). Due to
that, it receives much attention from ESL and EFL researchers as it is considered vital for
success not just in education but also in employment (Yuan, 2010).
From that point of view, it is already expected that learners may encounter challenges and
problems in learning this skill. Zhang (2001) and Hilleson (1996) have stated that when students
perform activities that require productive skills, they experience considerable amount of anxiety.
Hence, this writing anxiety can undeniably affect the process of learning. With this, a lot of
studies were being conducted and many researchers and prominent experts in the field of writing
have tried to investigate writing anxiety among the second and foreign language learners of
English.
As defined by Al-Sawalha and Chow (2012), writing anxiety is a label for one or a
combination of feelings, beliefs, or behaviors that interfere with a person’s ability to start, work
on, or finish a given writing task that he or she is intellectually capable of doing. It is a
situational-specific anxiety which is defined as a general avoidance of writing and of situations
perceived by the individuals to potentially require some amount of writing accompanied by the
potential for evaluation of that writing (Hassan, 2001). Usually, the condition of writing anxiety
will get worse when the students are required to write in the language other than their first
language. It is because, clearly, second language writing is strategically, rhetorically, and
linguistically different in important ways from L1 writing (Silva, 1993).
In the same vein, Takahashi (2009) states that writing anxiety is more of a fear of the
writing process that outweighs the projected gain from the ability to write. Students feel
apprehensive about writing, especially when written assignments contribute substantially to the
course final grade (Schmidt, 2004). Those with writing anxiety may experience higher anxiety
when asked to write, and this anxiety is evident in their behaviors, attitudes, and written work.
They tend to have more difficulty in creating ideas for writing, produce shorter words, and
experience difficulty with grammatical usage and mechanics (Reeves, 1997; Shang, 2012).
In the study conducted by Cheng (2004), writing anxiety has three types: cognitive
anxiety, somatic anxiety, and avoidance anxiety. Cognitive anxiety refers to the cognitive aspect
of anxiety experience, including negative expectations, preoccupation with performance and
concern about others’ perception. Somatic anxiety refers to one’s perception of the psychological
effects of the experience, such as nervous and tension. Avoidance anxiety is a type of anxiety
where the students avoid writing.
When it comes to the several causes of writing anxiety, Heaton and Pray (1982)
identified them such as limited time to plan, write and revise; absence of good writing skills
including writing instruction and practice, brainstorming ideas, organization of ideas and
mechanics of writing such as penmanship, punctuation and vocabulary; and teachers’ negative
comments (Bachman and Palmer, 1996; Hyland, 2003). Likewise, Bloom (1981) considers self-
imposed pressure for perfect work and problems with topic choice as possible causes of anxiety.
There are also other sources of writing anxiety which include lack of confidence in second
language writing (Cheng, 2002), lack of ability to express ideas in appropriate English (Hyland,
2003), high frequency of writing assignments (Claypool, 1980), and fear of negative comment
(Horwitz et al., 1986).
One of the significant works as well is the study of Daly and Miller (1975), who coined
the term “writing apprehension” to refer to the emotional problem. They also developed an
instrument, Writing Apprehension Test (WAT), a tool that has been widely used by many
researchers to measure writing anxiety in English language learners. This paved a way to arouse
the interest of the researcher to conduct a study using a similar tool to measure the writing
apprehension of the students. Hence, this study aims to: determine the writing apprehension of
the Grade 12 HUMSS students; explore the sources of writing apprehension from their
perspectives as HUMSS students; and find out what are the suggested measures their English
teachers may do to lessen their writing apprehension.

2. Methodology
Research Design
The present study focused on determining the Grade 12 HUMSS students’ writing
apprehension level, their perspectives on the sources of their writing apprehension, and their
suggested measures for their English teachers to lessen it. With this purpose in mind, the
researcher decided to use a mixed-method design. Quantitative method was used to gather
numerical information to answer the first part of the research instrument and a qualitative method
was used to gather details about the students’ perspectives on the sources of their writing
apprehension and the possible ways their English teachers may do in dealing with it.
Research Instrument
The first part of the questionnaire used in this study is the English Writing
Apprehension/Attitude Test (EWAT) by Dally and Miller (1975), altered by Aljafen (2013) to
make it more appropriate to the ESL/EFL learners. It is a 26-item scale, with an equal number of
positive and negative statements (e.g., “I have no fear of my English writing being evaluated,”
and “Writing in English is a lot of fun”). The researcher chose this research instrument because,
first, it has been used in other studies, and second, its simple negative and positive statements
offer five levels of agreement to choose from: 5 (strongly disagree), 4 (disagree), 3 (uncertain), 2
(agree) and 1 (strongly agree). The researcher also added two final, open-ended questions about
the sources of second language writing apprehension that the Grade 12 HUMSS students
commonly shared and their suggested measures for their English teacher to curtail it.
Context and Participants
A total of 30 Grade 12 HUMSS students at a private school in Victoria, Tarlac
voluntarily participated in the research. These students were chosen because they write a lot of
academic texts in their strand and that they are perceived to be proficient users of the English
language. The researcher gave them the questionnaire just after writing their reflection essays
throughout three weeks. Everyone took part in the questionnaire with open-ended questions.
Statistical Treatment of Data
To identify the writing apprehension level of the Grade 12 HUMSS students, the
researcher multiplied each of counting result to each point of the questionnaire used. After
multiplying the result with Likert point, the total score was summed up and divided it to the
number of participants to get the mean score.
 To describe the writing apprehension of the participants, the following table and
indicators below were used:
Writing Apprehension Level
Mean Score Verbal Description Levels
4.50 – 5.00 Strongly Agree Very Anxious
3.50 – 4.49 Agree Anxious
2.50 – 3.49 Neutral Moderately Anxious
1.50 – 2.49 Disagree Slightly Anxious
1.00 – 1.49 Strongly Disagree Never Anxious

Percentage, on the other hand, was used to describe the sources of writing apprehension
from the perspectives of the Grade 12 HUMSS students. The calculation of percentage was
based on the following formula:
% = f/N x 100%
Where:
f – frequency of the variable
N – number of respondents

3. Results and Discussions

In this study, the researcher analyzed two kinds of questionnaires: the modified
English Writing Apprehension/Attitude Test (EWAT) by Aljafen (2013), and the two
open-ended questions made by the researcher. The data analysis is presented as follows:

3.1 Writing Apprehension of the Grade 12 HUMSS Students

Table 1
The Mean and Level of Each Item of EWAT

Statements Mean Level

Score
1. I avoid writing. 3.7 Moderately
I avoid English writing. anxious
2. I have no fear of my writing's being evaluated. 3.2 Moderately
I have no fear of my English writing's being evaluated. anxious
3. I look forward to writing down my ideas. 2.4 Slightly
I look forward to writing down my ideas in English. anxious
4. I am afraid of writing essays when I know they will be 3.2
evaluated. Moderately
I am afraid of writing essays when I know they will be anxious
evaluated.
5. Taking a writing course is a very frightening experience. 3.1 Moderately
Taking a writing course is a very frightening experience. anxious
6. Handing in a composition makes me feel good. 2.8 Moderately
Handing in an English composition makes me feel good. anxious
7. My mind seems to go blank when I start to work on my 4.0
composition. Anxious
My mind seems to go blank when I start to work on my
composition.
8. Expressing ideas through writing seems to be a waste of 4.1
time. Anxious
Expressing ideas through English writing seems to be a
waste of time
9. I would enjoy submitting my writing to journals for 3.5
evaluation and publication. Anxious
I would enjoy submitting my English writing to magazines
for evaluation and publication.
10. I like to write down my ideas. 2.5 Moderately
I like to write down my ideas in English. anxious
11. I feel confident in my ability to express my ideas clearly in 3.1
writing. Moderately
I feel confident in my ability to express my ideas clearly in anxious
writing in English.
12. I like to have my colleagues read what I have written. 2.9 Slightly
I like to have my friends read what I have written. anxious
13. I'm nervous about writing. 3 Moderately
I'm nervous about English writing. anxious
14. People seem to value what I write. 3.2 Moderately
People seem to enjoy what I write in English. anxious
15. I enjoy writing. 2.6 Slightly
I enjoy English writing. anxious
16. I never seem to be able to write down my ideas clearly. 3.3 Moderately
I never seem to be able to write down my ideas clearly. anxious
17. Writing is a lot of fun. 3 Moderately
Writing in English is a lot of fun. anxious
18. I expect to do poorly in writing. 3.3 Moderately
I expect to do poorly in composition classes even before I anxious
enter them.
19. I like seeing my thoughts on paper. 2.2 Slightly
I like seeing my thoughts on paper. anxious
20. Discussing my writing with others is enjoyable. 2.6 Moderately
Discussing my English writing with others is enjoyable. anxious
21. I have a terrible time organizing my ideas in writing. 2.8 Moderately
I have a terrible time organizing my ideas in a composition anxious
course.
22. When I hand in writing, I know I'm going to do poorly. 3.5
Anxious
 When I hand in a composition, I know I'm going to do
poorly.
23. It's easy for me to write good papers. 3.5 Anxious
It's easy for me to write good compositions.
24. I don't think I write as well as most other scholars. 3.2 Moderately
I don't think I write as well as most other people. anxious
25. I don't like my writings to be evaluated. 4.8 Very
I don't like my compositions to be evaluated. anxious
26. I'm not good at writing. 2.8 Moderately
I'm not good at English writing. anxious
Grand Mean 3.17 Moderately
anxious

Based on the table above, it can be clearly seen that the participants found out to be

“moderately anxious” with a mean of 3.7 as they avoid English writing and with a mean of 3.86

when they worry about the consequences of failing in English class. Further, they attained “slightly

anxious” remarks at a mean of 2.39 and 2.21 whenever they study for the language test, the more

confused they get and they are uncomfortable during test in English class. Meanwhile, they were

“moderately anxious” at a mean of 2.58 about being afraid that their English teacher is ready to

correct every mistake they make.”

The result shows that the student-respondents were “moderately anxious” at a grand mean

of 2.91 in terms of Test Anxiety as one of the components of a second language anxiety. This

finding reveals that during test in English class, the student-respondents experience anxiety which

strengthens the statement of Basco and Olea (2008) that one of the most fearful scenarios that may

cause anxiety among the students today is when they take tests and examinations. When students

develop an extreme fright of performing inadequately on an examination, there will be a tendency

that they may experience anxiety. In addition, Test anxiety is a major factor contributing to a

multifarious of negative outcomes including psychological distress, poor academic achievement,

academic failure, and security. With that being said, students may not be able to do well on exam

because of a high level of anxiety even though they have enough cognition ability.
 3.2 Sources of Writing Apprehension from the Perspectives of Grade 12 HUMSS
Students

Figure 1
Sources of Writing Apprehension from the Perspectives of Grade 12 HUMSS Students

6.50% 3.50%

90%

Teachers' Evaluation Lack of Self-esteem Past Education

The second open-ended question was made by the researcher to explicitly

articulate the sources of English writing apprehension: “From your perspective as a
HUMSS student, what is the source of any writing apprehension that you have (e.g.
because of the teachers' evaluation, lack of self-esteem, past education)?”
Upon analysis, 2 out of 30 (6.50%) students chose past education as the sole
source of their writing apprehension. It is because they believe that the weakness of
their past education made them who they are now. Since their previous teachers never
cared about their writing performance before, they do not have an idea how they will
improve themselves.
As of with the teachers’ evaluation, 1 out of 30 (3.50%) students chose it as the
source of their writing apprehension. These students are afraid in committing
mistakes in grammar and vocabulary words because they think their teachers might
judge and laugh at them. They cannot bear it whenever their teachers embarrass them
in front of their classmates just because they committed an error in their writing.
Lastly, for the third source of writing apprehension, 27 out of 30 (90%) chose lack
of self-esteem as their main source of writing apprehension. Further, 9 (30%) out of
them even answered the question using the Filipino language. These students cannot
express themselves in writing English because they lack confidence. They are worried
about the ideas and thoughts they write. They are anxious due to the fact they are not
sure about what they write. Some students reasoned out that they are not comfortable
whenever they write essays and reports in their English subject.
 3.3 Suggested Measures their English Teachers may do to Lessen their Writing
Apprehension

The participants of this study not only expressed their feelings and their source of
writing apprehension toward writing in English on the EWAT, but also tried to suggest
possible measures their English teachers may do to lessen their writing apprehension in
their own words through the open-ended question: “What can you suggest for your
English subject teacher to lessen it?”
Most of the responses of the participants answered about having a separated day
for discussion and writing activity. They also complain that writing activities injected in
the classroom must be lessened and must arouse the interest of the students. Some other
students demand that teachers must give them enough time to finish their writing
activities and focus on their weaknesses in writing. A few participants wrote that their
English teachers should correct their grammar immediately if it is wrong (in a good way)
so they can do better the next time they write. In addition, teachers must encourage the
students not to be shy and boost their self-confidence in writing. Finally, one participant
wrote that the teachers must let the students to express their ideas and thoughts without
judging them negatively.

4. Conclusions

From the findings of this study, the following conclusions were derived:

4.1 The Grade 12 HUMSS students were found out to be “moderately anxious” with a
grand mean of 3.17 after taking the English Writing Apprehension/Attitude Test
(EWAT) by Dally and Miller (1975), altered by Aljafen (2013). This means that
they are not comfortable with writing in English and that they do not like their
essays getting evaluated. Moreover, it is also found out that they already expect
themselves to do poorly whenever they enter their composition classes. Some of
them do not think they can write as well as other students do. They are not able to
write down their ideas clearly due to the nervous feeling they possess.
4.2 Results show that lack of self-esteem is the main reason of their writing
comprehension. Approximately 90% of these students are not confident when it
comes in English writing, 6.50% of them chose the weakness of their past
education as their source of writing apprehension and 3.50% of them are afraid to
be evaluated by teachers because they cannot take it if their teachers might
embarrass them and laugh at them once they commit grammar mistakes and use
vocabulary words that are not suited in the context.
4.3 These HUMSS students suggest that, in order for their writing apprehension to be
lessened, their English teachers may do the following:
4.3.1 have a separated day for discussion and writing activity;
 4.3.2 writing tasks must be lessened but still interesting;
4.3.3 give them enough time to finish their writing activities and focus on
their weaknesses in writing;
4.3.4 correct their grammar immediately if it is wrong (in a good way) so
they can do better the next time they write;
4.3.5 encourage the students not to be shy;
4.3.6 boost their self-confidence in writing; and
4.3.7 let the students express their ideas and thoughts without judging them
negatively.

Implications

1. Pedagogic Teaching

Teachers may give students enough motivation to compose English essays

and provide them topics they can relate about. These topics must be universal
and can trigger the creative thinking skills of the students.

2. Learning

Teachers should understand what every student is going through in the

learning process. He or she must monitor the progress of his or her students,
especially in the productive skills like writing. If one student cannot express
himself or herself well in writing in the English language, it is now the role of
the teacher to solve this problem immediately by thinking, “How about the
others?” Apprehension is a hindrance when it comes in learning; therefore,
teachers should always remind the students to always be confident, study well
and practice the use of English language.

Limitations
The first limitation of this study is that this research focused solely on groups of
students who are in the humanities and arts field. Therefore, the results might benefit
people in the humanities to the exclusion of those in the science and mathematics field.
As for the second limitation of this study, the participants belong from a private
school who have an intermediate proficiency level in English. Therefore, the result can
not represent the whole population of HUMSS students in Victoria, Tarlac.

Recommendations
This study calls for more research on writing apprehension using both qualitative
and quantitative research methodology to confirm the results obtained by this study and
 to add useful information to the limited literature available on this issue in the Philippine
education setting. The findings of the present study would be useful not only in the
Philippine scene but also in all educational contexts where writing skill is practiced.

Generalizations
This study revealed that not all students who belong to the HUMSS strand are
proficient when it comes to writing in the English language. The more strands and teachers
perceive them as proficient users of English, the more anxious they feel. The pressure and the
expectations other students

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