Exploring Non-English Department Learners’ Writing Anxiety: A Narrative Inquiry in Online Learning

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating Arabic Postgraduate students’ writing anxiety during online learning of the pandemic Covid-19. This study employed a mixed-method design. This study employed narrative inquiry as the method of a qualitative study on the conceptions of narrative modes of thought (content) and sequence of events (form). The study focused on students' writing anxiety after one semester of attending online academic writing classes in Postgraduate Program in Arabic Education. The narrative content of the findings indicated students of Postgraduate Program in Arabic Education experiences with writing anxiety during online learning about academic writing including the factors causing writing anxiety and its impact. The factors causing writing anxiety during online learning include learners’ psychological factors, low level of learners’ writing skill and confidence, lack of grammatical knowledge, lack of vocabulary mastery, lack of writing motivation, and poor internet connection. Further, learners’ writing anxiety can give impact their writing quality product and achievement. This empirical evidence implies that both lecturer and students must increase their efforts to create a good learning environment in which learners can manage their emotions and produce higher-quality academic writing products. This study also suggests that future researchers working on similar topics investigate the learners’ writing anxiety in another field of study and context.