Exploring EFL students’ motivation in essay writing through writing beliefs, self-efficacy, and attitudes: a case from Papua, Indonesia

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23971/jefl.v13i1.4561

Keywords:

essay writing, Papuan EFL students, self-efficacy, writing attitudes, writing beliefs, writing motivation

Abstract

Although writing motivation has been widely investigated, limited research has focused on the three elements of internal motivation: writing beliefs, self-efficacy, and attitudes, let alone in the Papuan context. This study explored 32 Papuan EFL undergraduate students' internal motivation in essay writing through a purposive sampling technique. This research adopted a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative data. In collecting the quantitative data, a questionnaire was distributed through the Google Forms platform and analyzed using SPSS 26.0. Meanwhile, semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain qualitative data and analyzed by reading the data transcription and listening to the data recording three times to gain more valid information about the students' internal motivation in writing. The findings revealed that most EFL students had realized the importance of writing (WB1; M=3.63). Some students also demonstrated self-efficacy as writers (SE1; M=3.67), while others still felt anxious during writing (SE4; 3.60). Furthermore, some participants had created a positive attitude toward writing, whereas others did not. This research offers pedagogical implications for the lecturers and educators to promote the importance of writing to their students, encourage them to increase their self-efficacy as writers, and create positive attitudes toward writing.

Author Biographies

Abel Yohanis Romrome, Universitas Sanata Dharma, Yogyakarta,

Abel Yohanis Romrome is a student of English Education Master's Program of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta. He got his bachelor degree of Arts from Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Teologi "Fajar Timur" Jayapura, Papua. His research interests include English language teaching, teachers' identity development, students' motivation, and metacognitive strategy.

Concilianus Laos Mbato, Universitas Sanata Dharma, Yogyakarta,

Concilianus Laos Mbato is a senior lecturer in the English education master's program at Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta. He got his M.A from GRIFFITH University and Ed.D from Southern Cross University. His research interests include English language teaching, language skills, motivation, metacognition, and self-regulated learning.

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2022-12-25
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