An investigation into EFL learners’ reflection in writing and the inhibitors to their reflection

Abstract

The present study explored Iranian EFL (English as Foreign Language) learners’ reflective writing and the inhibitors which are a deterrent to write reflectively. The participants consisted of both students and teachers. A researcher-made questionnaire probed the EFL learners’ reflection in writing. The essays produced by the learners were also evaluated to consolidate the findings of the survey. In the second phase of the study, we examined both students’ and teachers’ perceptions about the inhibitors of reflection in EFL writing. To do so, a semi-structured interview was conducted for the students and the themes extracted from the essays were categorized. Afterward, the teachers were given a researcher-made survey of the inhibitors to EFL students’ reflective writing questionnaire (IRWQ). The findings revealed that Iranian EFL writers have noticeable weaknesses in implementing higher-order thinking while writing and they are mostly involved in lower levels of reflection such as habitual actions and understanding. Regarding the reasons, as the results of the interview revealed, students believed that, among other factors, low proficiency is the most important inhibitor while their teachers considered teachers’ lack of training, students’ lack of adequate foreign language (FL) proficiency, and lack of support from the side of teachers as the most influential factors that limit students to write reflectively.

Keywords

• efl learners
• inhibitors
• reflection
• reflective learning
• writing