Determining Attrition of Writing Skills among Chinese EFL Learners

Abstract

So far, little research about writing has been said to have occurred in an EFL environment compared to an ESL environment. This study anchors on an EFL environment found in China. In connection with the EFL environment is the question of writing attrition. The main thrust of the study is to investigate if writing attrition occurred after a long period of nonuse by tertiary students. In addition, attempts are made to link writing attrition to levels of motivation and social activities experienced by the learners. To obtain data, we resorted to standardized writing tests used by the tertiary institution and also developed a questionnaire to investigate the levels of motivation and social activities. To give credibility to the writing instrument used to gauge attrition, test validation is also carried out to lay the fundamentals for the discussion of attrition in writing. We find that overall writing skills attrite coupled with attrition in coherence, clarity and pertinence, but not in grammar. Motivation and social activities may correlate to changes in writing skills.

attrition, writing, motivation, social activities, EFL