Effects of Mastery Learning Instruction on Engineering Students’ Writing Skills Development and Motivation

Abstract

This study was aimed to investigate the effects of mastery learning instruction on engineering students’ academic writing skills and motivation in an EFL context. The participants were software engineering and computer science first-year students, and they were selected using a multistage sampling technique. Observation, a questionnaire, and pre- and post-tests were employed as data gathering instruments. The research was designed through a time series quasi-experimental research design. The data were analysed through repeated measure ANOVA, independent t-tests, as well as descriptive statistics. The findings indicated that there was a statistical difference between the experimental and the control groups. Hence, students who participated in mastery learning instruction improved their writing skills and achieved better scores in writing skills assessment. Particularly, learners who learned through mastery learning instruction were able to develop paragraphs and essays with clear topic sentences and thesis statements. They also developed paragraphs with proper punctuation and minimized various mechanical errors that were observed during the pre-test. Furthermore, the students who engaged in mastery learning instruction had better levels of motivation. Thus, individualized instruction and continuous feedback helped them improve their engagement in writing activities. Hence, this study calls for more attention to self-paced instruction, regular feedback, assessment, and continuous support in writing classrooms.

Effects of Teaching Lexical Bundles on EFL Students’ Abstract Genre Academic Writing Skills Improvement: Corpus-Based Research Design

“…They transfer their thoughts, ideas, and feelings through writing. Accordingly, learners are required to master the writing skills to have effective written communication in their disciplines (Birhan, 2018). Consequently, the importance of authentic linguistic elements and rhetorical features are crucial to have effective academic writing communication (Chang & Kuo, 2011) in learners' discipline.…”

An Experiment on Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Romanian Schools Using Mastery Learning Strategies

“…The learning models which John B. Carroll and Benjamin S. Bloom advocated for in the 1960s and the results of so many researches (Abu Moumer, 2017;Amirrudin & Zainudin, 2015;Aviles, 2001;Birhan, 2018;Elaldı, 2016;Hill-Miller, 2011;Kazu et al, 2005;Mehar & Kanwar, 2019;Moyosore, 2015;Sooyoung, 2005;Thompson & Grabau, 2005) in this area determined the researcher to adapt the initial model and implement it during English as a second language classes. The phrase mastery learning was not new in the educational system of the United States of America.…”

A ‘Marriage’ between Language and Literature: Writing an Argumentative Literary Essay in EFL Contexts

“…Argumentative writing has been found important in academic settings as it develops the students" critical thinking, analysis and synthesis skills important for course work (Bacha, 2010;Birhan, 2018;Tiruneh et al, 2014). Furthermore, foreign literature in the classroom is a challenge for these EFL students who come from a different culture and may not understand many of the lexical items, the humor or the culture.…”