The Role of Extracurricular Activities on Kurdish EFL University Students’ writing skill performance
Emad Mahmud Radha
Ministry of Education Shorsh Preparatory School
Wrya Izzadin Ali
English Department, Salahaddin University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25130/Lang.8.6.8
Keywords: Extracurricular activities, EFL English as a Foreign Language, Kurdish EFL university Students, Writing skill, written performance
Abstract
Participation in English language-oriented extracurricular activities outside the classroom results in the development and progress in EFL students’ language skills development the writing skill and written performances in particular. The current study investigates the roles and effects of extracurricular activities in enhancing the writing skill and written performances of Kurdish EFL university students. The design of this research is experimental as the study has been conducted at Charmo University which is one of the public Universities in Kurdistan region of Iraq. The participants are 50 Kurdish EFL university students who studied fourth semester in English language department during 2022 and 2023 academic years. They are randomly divided into two groups a control group with 25 students and an experimental group with 25 students as well. The data collection instruments were writing tests included a writing pretest and a writing posttest. A writing pretest was administrated to both of the groups at the beginning of the semester at the same date and time before starting intervention treatment which the treatment here means engaging in the activities by the experimental group of students. After the pretest directly the intervention started as the intervention duration lasted for ten weeks. Then after ten weeks of intervention a writing posttest was administrated to both of groups at the same date and time. The Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS 26) was used to perform all data analysis of the numerical results of the writing tests. The results of the statistical analysis of ANCOVA for the scores of both of the writing tests revealed significant different result between both of groups. The results disclosed students of the experimental group has achieved significant progress in their writing skill in terms of the written performance in comparison to the control group results due to the effect of the intervention which is here meant participation and engaging various English language-oriented extracurricular activities outside the classroom by the students of the experimental group .
References
Al-Bataineh, A. (2010). The effect of the internet on improving foreign language students' writing performance. An-Najah University Journal for Research-B (Humanities), 24(4), 1241-1258.
Alsubaie, A., & Madini, A. A. (2018). The effect of using blogs to enhance the writing skill of English language learners at a Saudi university. Global Journal of Educational Studies, 4(1), 13-30.
Barjesteh, H., Vaseghi, R., & Gholami, R. (2011). The effect of diary writing on EFL college students' writing improvement and attitudes. In International Conference on Languages, Literature and Linguistics IPEDR (Vol. 26, pp. 143-147).
Bialystok, E. (1981). The role of conscious strategies in second language proficiency. The Modern Language Journal, 65(1), 24-35.
Brown, H. D. (2001). TeachingbyPrinciples: AnInteractiveApproachto LanguagePedagogy. WhitePlains, NY: Longman.
Campbell, H. (1973). Extracurricular Foreign Language Activities. ERIC Focus Reports on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Number 29.
Chen, A. H. (2008). Improving basic college English writing through the use of e-mail exchange between Taiwanese and American students. Hsiuping Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 11, 151-168.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research Methods in Education. New York: Routledge.
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.
Creswell, J. W., Clark, V. L. P., Gutmann, M. L., & Hanson, W. E. (2003). ADVANCED MIXED. Handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research, 209.
Dornyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford university press.
Eccles, J. S., Barber, B. L., Stone, M., & Hunt, J. (2003). Extracurricular activities and adolescent development. Journal of social issues, 59(4), 865-889.
Googol, Nasim and Armat, Mahnaz (2012) The Effect of Academic vs. Non-academic Extracurricular Activities on EFL Learners’ Creative Writing. In: Reinelt, R. (ed.) (2012) Foreign LanguageTeaching and New Media – What have they Gained? Rudolf Reinelt Research Laboratory EU Matsuyama, Japan, p. 99 – 103.
Guo, S. C. (2011). Impact of an out-of-class activity on studentsʼ English awareness, vocabulary, and autonomy. Language education in Asia, 2(2), 246-256.
Hamp-Lyons, L. & Heasly, B. (2006). Study Writing (2nd Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Harmer, J. (1992). The Practice of English Language Teaching. London: Longman.
Harmer, J. (2004). How to teach writing. Pearson Education India.
Hedge, T. (2007). Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom. New York: Oxford University Press.
Husni, R. (2019). The Effect of Outdoor Classroom Activity to the Writing Skill for Students English Department. IJECA (International Journal of Education and Curriculum Application), 2(3), 36-43.
Hyland, F. (2004). Learning autonomously: Contextualizing out-of-class English language learning. Language Awareness, 13, 180-202.
Hyland, K. (2016). Methods and methodologies in second language writing research. System, 59, 116-125.
Hymes, D. (1966). On Communicative Competence. The Research Planning Conference on Language Development among Disadvantaged Children. New York: Yeshiva University
Janfaza, A., Shahsavari, K., & Soori, A. (2014). The impact of using email on improving the writing skills among Iranian students. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 5(5), 75-79.
Jacobs, H. L. (1981). Testing ESL Composition: A Practical Approach. English Composition Program. Newbury House Publishers, Inc., Rowley, MA 01969.
Knight, T.L. ( 2007). Beyond the Classroom Walls: A Study of Out of Class English Use by Adult Community College ESL Students,5-24.( A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree ofMaster of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages ) Portland State University . Retrieved from http://www.independentlearning.org/uploads/100836/ila03_pearson.pdf
Kuh, G. D. (2007). What student engagement data tell us about college readiness. Peer Review, 9(1), 4-8
Kuimova, M. V., & Zvekov, O. D. (2016). Blogs as a means to enhance writing skills in EFL classes. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (Online), 11(4), 157.
Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2005). Second language research: Methodology and design. Routledge.
Mahfouz, S. M. (2010). A study of Jordanian university students' perceptions of using email exchanges with native English keypals for improving their writing competency. Calico Journal, 27(2), 393-408.
Mariani, M., Setiyorini, W., & Martisa, E. (2021, April). The Effect Of Web Blog Instruction On The Writing Competence Of The English Literature Students, Cultural Science Faculty, Halu Oleo University. 2. In ISSHE 2020: Proceedings of the First International Seminar Social Science, Humanities and Education, ISSHE 2020, 25 November 2020, Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia (p. 252). European Alliance for Innovation.
Moncrief, R. (2011). Out-of-classroom language learning: A case study of students of advanced English language courses at Helsinki University Language Centre. LANGUAGE CENTRE PUBLICATIONS 2, 107.
Navehebrahim, M., & Ghani, A. A. (2011). Enhancing the performance of spoken English among the nonnative: A conceptual model. In International Conference on Social Science and Humanity IPEDR (Vol. 5).
Niazi, F., & Pourgharib, B. (2013). The effect of using email on enhancing Iranian intermediate EFL learners writing proficiency. International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences, 4(11), 3531-3539.
Noyan, E., & Kocoglu, Z. (2019). Developing EFL writing skills through WhatsApp dialogue journaling. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 10(2), 38-48.
Nunan, D. (1992). Research methods in language learning. Cambridge university press.
Nunan, D. (1999). Second English Teaching and Learning. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
Nur, D., Rachman, D., & Arbain, A. (2020, February). Internet usage and its impact on the academic writing performance of efl Student at Tertiary Level. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Business, Law And Pedagogy, ICBLP 2019, 13-15 February 2019, Sidoarjo, Indonesia.
Olyevia, D., Kuliahana, A., & Syam, H. (2021). IMPROVING STUDENTS’WRITING SKILL OF RECOUNT TEXT THROUGH DIARY WRITING AT EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF MTS NEGERI 2 PALU. Datokarama English Education Journal, 2(2).
Park, D. (2015). The range of benefits of extra-curricular activities towards English language learners. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto
Posner, J. K., & Vandell, D. L. (1999). After-school activities and the development of lowincome urban children: a longitudinal study.Developmental psychology, 35(3), 868-879
Richards, J. C., & Renandya, W. A. (Eds.). (2002). Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice. Cambridge university press.
Soto, S. (2020). Exploring the Impact of Extracurricular Activities on Student Performance and Environment.
Sundqvist, P. (2009) Extramural English matters: out-of-school English and its impact on Swedish ninth graders' oral proficiency and vocabulary. Diss. Karlstad: Karlstads universitet. Print.
Syafrizal, S., HARDİANTİ, S., & GAİLEA, N. (2020). Enhancing EFL students’ writing skills on English through Facebook and classroom collaborative activities. Journal for the Education of Gifted Young Scientists, 8(3), 1163-1172.
Vurdien, R. (2013). Enhancing writing skills through blogging in an advanced English as a Foreign Language class in Spain. Computer assisted Language learning, 26(2), 126-143.
Yildiz, Y. (2016). Impact of language-oriented extracurricular activities on academic achievement in Language preparation schools. Journal of Education in Black Sea Region, 1(2).
Yulianti, N. (2014). Improving the writing skills through diary writing of the tenth grade students of SMAN 1 Ngemplak. Yogyakarta State University.
Zhou, H. (2015). An Empirical Study of Blog-assisted EFL Process Writing: Evidence from Chinese Non-English Majors. Journal of Language Teaching & Research, 6(1).
Jacobs, H.; Zingraf, S. ; Wormuth, D.; Hartfiel, V.F., & Hughey, J. (1981). ESL Composition Profile. Newbury House Publishers
