A Study of the Arabic and English Composing Processes of Emirati School Students: A Socio- Cognitive Approach

The purpose of the study was to investigate the strategies employed by Emirati school students during the composing processes of Arabic and English written performance. In addition, the study focused on the factors affecting the composing process such as gender, age and first language. The theoretic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Albakri, Rehab Helmi (author)
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/969
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1862980620117868544
author Albakri, Rehab Helmi
author_facet Albakri, Rehab Helmi
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Albakri, Rehab Helmi
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2016-03
2017-02-26T13:07:56Z
2017-02-26T13:07:56Z
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv 110153
http://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/969
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv en
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv English language -- Composition and exercises.
Arabic language -- Composition and exercises.
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv A Study of the Arabic and English Composing Processes of Emirati School Students: A Socio- Cognitive Approach
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Thesis
description The purpose of the study was to investigate the strategies employed by Emirati school students during the composing processes of Arabic and English written performance. In addition, the study focused on the factors affecting the composing process such as gender, age and first language. The theoretical framework of the study was the socio-cognitive approach introduced by Atkinson (2002) which focuses on the interaction between the social and cognitive dimensions of language learning. To achieve the purpose of the study, a qualitative research approach was used to collect and analyze data. The data was collected from an Arabic private school in Ajman in the United Arab Emirates and the participants consisted of four supervisors (two Arabic and two English supervisors) working at public and private schools and eight students; four from grade 9 (2 boys and 2 girls) and four from grade 11 (2 boys and 2 girls). The research instruments consisted of think-aloud protocol, semi-structured interviews and students’ written products. The think-aloud protocol was used to investigate the internal processes that take place in the mind of the students during composing in Arabic and English. The semi-structured interviews were conducted with the students as retrospective interviews to explore their attitudes towards writing and with the supervisors to investigate their role in enhancing students' writing skills and to throw light on the way textbooks were selected and deployed. To analyze the strategies used by students during their composing of the Arabic and English texts, Mu’s (2005) and Kim’s (2014) taxonomies were adapted to suit the purposes of the study. The Arabic and English written products resulting from students’ verbalization in the think-aloud were analyzed using Jacobs' et al. (1981) scale to rate the English texts and AlHalak's (2009) scale to rate the Arabic texts. An interpretive approach was used to analyze the interviewees' answers to the semi-structured questions, to describe the strategies used by students, and to discuss the ratings of the Arabic and English written products. The findings of the study indicated that students mainly used cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies while composing in Arabic and English, whereas they lack other strategies like revision and editing strategies. Also, the findings showed no indications of the effect of gender and age on the written performance, while they highlighted other factors such as the content of the textbook, teacher's performance, the teaching approach, and students' problems. In addition, the results of data analysis showed to some extent the influence of Arabic proficiency in enhancing English writing. Understanding the factors affecting the composing process will help provide solutions to overcome learners' problems and improve their strategies while writing.
id budr_9ecbb1eeaa9537650659af16681f2ca3
identifier_str_mv 110153
language_invalid_str_mv en
network_acronym_str budr
network_name_str The British University in Dubai repository
oai_identifier_str oai:bspace.buid.ac.ae:1234/969
publishDate 2016
publisher.none.fl_str_mv The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository_id_str
spelling A Study of the Arabic and English Composing Processes of Emirati School Students: A Socio- Cognitive ApproachAlbakri, Rehab HelmiEnglish language -- Composition and exercises.Arabic language -- Composition and exercises.United Arab Emirates (UAE)The purpose of the study was to investigate the strategies employed by Emirati school students during the composing processes of Arabic and English written performance. In addition, the study focused on the factors affecting the composing process such as gender, age and first language. The theoretical framework of the study was the socio-cognitive approach introduced by Atkinson (2002) which focuses on the interaction between the social and cognitive dimensions of language learning. To achieve the purpose of the study, a qualitative research approach was used to collect and analyze data. The data was collected from an Arabic private school in Ajman in the United Arab Emirates and the participants consisted of four supervisors (two Arabic and two English supervisors) working at public and private schools and eight students; four from grade 9 (2 boys and 2 girls) and four from grade 11 (2 boys and 2 girls). The research instruments consisted of think-aloud protocol, semi-structured interviews and students’ written products. The think-aloud protocol was used to investigate the internal processes that take place in the mind of the students during composing in Arabic and English. The semi-structured interviews were conducted with the students as retrospective interviews to explore their attitudes towards writing and with the supervisors to investigate their role in enhancing students' writing skills and to throw light on the way textbooks were selected and deployed. To analyze the strategies used by students during their composing of the Arabic and English texts, Mu’s (2005) and Kim’s (2014) taxonomies were adapted to suit the purposes of the study. The Arabic and English written products resulting from students’ verbalization in the think-aloud were analyzed using Jacobs' et al. (1981) scale to rate the English texts and AlHalak's (2009) scale to rate the Arabic texts. An interpretive approach was used to analyze the interviewees' answers to the semi-structured questions, to describe the strategies used by students, and to discuss the ratings of the Arabic and English written products. The findings of the study indicated that students mainly used cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies while composing in Arabic and English, whereas they lack other strategies like revision and editing strategies. Also, the findings showed no indications of the effect of gender and age on the written performance, while they highlighted other factors such as the content of the textbook, teacher's performance, the teaching approach, and students' problems. In addition, the results of data analysis showed to some extent the influence of Arabic proficiency in enhancing English writing. Understanding the factors affecting the composing process will help provide solutions to overcome learners' problems and improve their strategies while writing.The British University in Dubai (BUiD)2017-02-26T13:07:56Z2017-02-26T13:07:56Z2016-03Thesis110153http://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/969enoai:bspace.buid.ac.ae:1234/9692021-08-24T12:57:57Z
spellingShingle A Study of the Arabic and English Composing Processes of Emirati School Students: A Socio- Cognitive Approach
Albakri, Rehab Helmi
English language -- Composition and exercises.
Arabic language -- Composition and exercises.
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
title A Study of the Arabic and English Composing Processes of Emirati School Students: A Socio- Cognitive Approach
title_full A Study of the Arabic and English Composing Processes of Emirati School Students: A Socio- Cognitive Approach
title_fullStr A Study of the Arabic and English Composing Processes of Emirati School Students: A Socio- Cognitive Approach
title_full_unstemmed A Study of the Arabic and English Composing Processes of Emirati School Students: A Socio- Cognitive Approach
title_short A Study of the Arabic and English Composing Processes of Emirati School Students: A Socio- Cognitive Approach
title_sort A Study of the Arabic and English Composing Processes of Emirati School Students: A Socio- Cognitive Approach
topic English language -- Composition and exercises.
Arabic language -- Composition and exercises.
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
url http://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/969