NURTURING A GROWTH MINDSET AMONG ESL WRITERS

ABSTRACT

Mindsets are our beliefs about abilities, traits, intelligence and success (Uluduz and Gunbayi, 2018). Language mindsets have been found to play an essential role in learners’ motivation and resilience in language learning. Promoting learners’ growth mindsets is crucial to sustain their commitment to language learning (Lou and Noel, 2020). This paper aims to share the findings of a case study which focuses on understanding ESL writers’ anxieties and growth mindset. This qualitative study involves three different batches of SPM English Language 1119 candidates in three different secondary schools. They were the participants of SPM 1119 English Language writing workshops. Each participant was required to write about their feelings to complete their writing tasks in examinations before and after the workshop using a specified form. Content analysis was chosen as the research tool and it was supported by semi-structured interviews involving selected participants. The findings reveal that a two-hour writing workshop conducted in each school could greatly reduce their writing anxieties, thus promote growth mindsets among the learners. Most learners began to be more motivated to write and feel confident that they could be better writers after the two-hour writing workshop.

KEYWORDS: writing anxieties, growth mindset

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