This study obtained four major findings. First of all, it was found that the two types of picture prompts had no significant effect on EFL senior high school students’ writing performance. Second, the students’ English proficiency levels had a significant effect on writing fluency, accuracy, and overall quality. Third, students’ writing anxiety levels had a significant effect on writing performance, in terms of flue ncy, accuracy, and overall quality.
Fourth, except that a closed-ended picture prompt was considered to hinder creativity in writing more highly than an open-ended prompt, there were no significant differences in students’ perceptions toward the two prompts. Students’ preference for either of the two prompts was mainly determined by their perceived ease of writing with the prompt, which varied.
Discussion
The findings regarding the effects of picture prompts, English proficiency, and writing anxiety are discussed in the following sections.
The Effect of Picture Prompts on Writing Performance
It was found that the two types of prompts made no significant difference in
participants’ writing performance, including writing fluency, accuracy, and overall quality.
The effect of picture prompt also did not vary with students’ proficiency or writing anxiety levels.
The current results are contradictory to the findings of Way, Joiner, and Seaman’s (2000) study on L2 French secondary students. In Way, Joiner and Seaman’s research, the participants finished the writing tasks with three types of prompts: bare prompts,
vocabulary prompts, and prose model prompts. They found prompt types made a
significant difference in writing performance: Prose model prompts produced the highest mean scores, and bare prompts produced the lowest mean scores. The significant effect of prompt type seems to be related to the amount of language provided in the prompts.
Therefore, one possible reason why the finding of this study differed from that of Way, Joiner, and Seaman’s study (2000) may be that unlike their study, the two prompts
compared in the current study provided the same amount of language support. This finding suggests that it does not affect how one writes whether to use a closed-ended picture prompt or an open-ended picture prompt and the two types of picture prompts could be used alternatively in such exams as GSAT, as long as the amount of language support in the two picture prompts is controlled to be equal. Results obtained from the post-writing questionnaire further support no significant difference in students’ preference for or
perceptions of the two picture prompts in terms of enhancing writing content, organization, and inspiration. The only exception was in the aspect of creativity, with the closed-ended picture prompt believed to hinder creativity more highly than the open-ended picture prompt, though this perceived effect did not affect writing performance at the end.
The Effect of Proficiency on Writing Performance
Though proficiency did not moderate the effect of picture prompts, English
proficiency itself had a significant effect on students’ performance in English writing: High achievers scored significantly higher than low achievers in writing fluency, accuracy, and overall quality. This finding is in accordance with previous studies (Barkaoui, 2014; Lin, 2005; Pennington & So, 1993; Tsai & Cheng, 2009). Pennington and So (1993) proposed that learners’ L2 proficiency was the only factor that distinguished good from weak writers.
In Lin’s (2005) and Tsai and Cheng’s (2009) studies, high school students with better English proficiency also excelled those with lower English proficiency in writing.
Barkaoui’s findings (2014) also demonstrated that test-takers’ general English language proficiency (high- or low-proficiency), rather than their motor activities (like high- or low- keyboarding skills), contributed substantially to variance in performance on TOEFL-iBT essays. It is thus essential for EFL writing instructors to help their students develop sufficient English proficiency when they learn to write.
The Effect of L2 Writing Anxiety on Writing Performance
L2 writing anxiety did not moderate the effect of picture prompts, but writing anxiety itself had a significant effect on students’ writing performance: The participants with low writing anxiety outperformed those with high writing anxiety in terms of writing fluency, accuracy, and overall quality. Previous research also suggests that writing anxiety may affect writing performance. According to MacIntryre, Noels, and Clément (1997),
“anxious language learners may focus their attention on their perceived inadequacies, the potential for failure, and the consequences of that imagined failure, rather than
concentrating on the task itself.” (p.269) As a result of dividing their mental resources and apprehension of composition deficits, high-anxiety learners tend to perform worse than their low-anxiety peers. Tsai and Cheng’s (2009) study further provides evidence for the
negative effect of writing anxiety on writing performance: They found that the writing quality of the low-anxiety group surpassed that of the high-anxiety group. Therefore, it is a prominent issue for EFL instructors to help student writers reduce the interference of L2 writing anxiety when they write. To reduce students’ anxiety, teachers should assign diverse picture writing tasks for students to complete either in-class practices or take-home assignments, ranging from a single prompt to a series of picture prompts either with a closed or an open ending. Familiarity with different writing tasks may reduce students’
anxiety about writing. Second, teachers should foster a cordial learning atmosphere. For instance, teachers might design activities where students would feel comfortable with providing each other with feedback before they turn in essays for teachers to evaluate.
With the help of smartphone app software, teachers could also ask students to post a sentence or two on a website and then give brief comments on them. By so doing, students may get more accustomed to English writing and receiving feedback, so that their writing anxiety may be reduced.