Primary School Children’s Motivation for EFL Writing: The Case of Eighth-Graders
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Numerous studies have explored motivation in language learning, yet few have focused on writing in English as a foreign language (EFL), particularly among primary school children. This study aimed to explore EFL writing motivation among Croatian young language learners (YLLs) at the end of primary education (Grade 8). It investigated both internal and external aspects of motivation. Employing a mixed methods design with a predominantly descriptive qualitative analysis, data were collected from 50 learners (aged 13–14) using a semi-structured, paper-based questionnaire. Findings show that eighth-graders exhibited a positive motivational profile toward writing in English. They were mainly intrinsically motivated, driven by the enjoyment of writing and a sense of ease and self-competence. They also showed extrinsic motivation, valuing English for future opportunities and global communication. Teacher influence and texting on mobile phones as a preferred writing form appeared to further support EFL writing motivation. The findings also reveal that though being negatively affected by limited practice, unengaging topics, word limits, and stress from time and grading pressures, YLLs had a positive view of writing compositions in English. Further results suggest that eighth-graders engaged in minimal additional EFL writing practice at home, suggesting a limited effort to develop writing skills outside the formal educational context. Finally, parental support for EFL writing was relatively low, implying that parent involvement was not consistently related to higher motivation for EFL writing among primary school children.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Ahmed, S. K. (2024). The pillars of trustworthiness in qualitative research. Journal of Medicine, Surgery, and Public Health, 2, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.glmedi.2024.100051
Alwasilah, A. C. (2006). From local to global: Reinventing local literature through English writing class. TEFLIN Journal, 17(1), 11–27.
Anh, D. T. K. (2019). EFL student’s writing skills: Challenges and remedies. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 9(6), 74–84.
Astrid, A., Marzulina, L., Erlina, D., Harto, K., Habibi, A., & Mukminin, A. (2019). Teaching writing to EFL student teachers: Teachers’ intervention and no teachers’ intervention through peer feedback writing techniques. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 7(9), 1901–1908.
Bai, B., & Guo, W. (2019). Motivation and self-regulated strategy use: Relationships to primary school students’ English writing in Hong Kong. Language Teaching Research, 25(3), 378–399. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168819859921
Bai, B., Shen, B., & Mei, H. (2020). Hong Kong primary students’ self-regulated writing strategy use: Influences of gender, writing proficiency, and grade level. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 65, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2020.100839
Blagus Bartolec, G. (2022). Gramatika za sve koji uče i poučavaju hrvatski kao drugi i strani jezik [Grammar for learners and teachers of Croatian as a second and foreign language]. Hrvatski Jezik, 3, 35–38.
Bobkina, J., Baluyan, S., & Romero, E. D. (2025). Tech-enhanced vocabulary acquisition: Exploring the use of student-created video learning materials in the tertiary-level EFL (English as a foreign language) flipped classroom. Education Sciences, 15(4), Article 450. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15040450
Cahyono, B. Y., & Rahayu, T. (2020). EFL students’ motivation in writing, writing proficiency, and gender. TEFLIN Journal, 31(2), 162–180.
Calzada, A., & García Mayo, M. P. (2020). Child EFL learners’ attitudes towards a collaborative writing task. Language Teaching for Young Learners, 2(1), 52–72.
Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge University Press.
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner. L. Erlbaum.
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford University Press.
Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (2011). Teaching and researching motivation (2nd ed.). Longman.
Drew, I., & Hasselgreen, A. (2008). Young language learner (YLL) research: An overview of some international and national approaches. Acta Didactica Norge, 2(1), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.5617/adno.1024
Fakeye, D. (2010). Students’ personal variables as correlates of academic achievement in English as a second language in Nigeria. Journal of Social Sciences, 22, 205–211.
Fareed, M., Ashraf, A., & Bilal, M. (2016). ESL learners’ writing skills: Problems, factors and suggestions. Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 4(2), 81–92.
Flower, L. S., & Hayes, J. R. (1980). The synamics of composing: Making plans and juggling constraints. In L. Gregg & E. Steinberg (Eds.), Cognitive processes in writing: An interdisciplinary approach (pp. 31–50). L. Erlbaum.
Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. Hodder Arnold.
Geng, F., Yu, S., Liu, C., & Liu, Z. (2021). Teaching and learning writing in English as a foreign language (EFL) school education contexts: A thematic review. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 66(3), 491–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2021.1897872
Graham, S., Berninger, V., & Fan, W. (2007). The structural relationship between writing attitude and writing achievement in young children. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 32, 516–536.
Hamp-Lyon, L., & Heasly, B. (2006). Study writing (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Harmer, J. (2008). How to teach English. ELT Journal, 62(3), 313–316.
Harris, K., & Graham, S. (2016). Self-regulated strategy development in writing: Policy implications of an evidence-based practice. Reading, Writing, and Language, 3, 77–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732215624216
Hedge, T. (2005). Writing (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Hemphill, M. A., & Richards, K. A. R. (2018). A practical guide to collaborative qualitative data analysis. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 37(2), 225–231. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2017-0084
Hyland, K. (2013). ESP and writing. In B. Paltrige & S. Starfield (Eds.), The handbook of English for specific purposes (pp. 95–114). John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Inostroza, M.-J., Perez-Villalobos, C., & Tabalí, P. (2024). Chilean primary learners’ motivation and attitude towards English as a foreign language. Education Sciences, 14(3), Article 262. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14030262
Jashari, L. T., & Dagarin Fojkar, M. (2019). Teachers’ perceptions of developing writing skills in the EFL classroom. ELOPE, 16(2), 77–90. https://doi.org/10.4312/elope.16.2.77-90
Khoii, R., & Arabsarhangi, Z. (2015). Developing young EFL learners’ writing skill in Wikis’ collaborative environment: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications. In M. Rahimi (Ed.), Handbook of research on individual differences in computer-assisted language (pp. 345–374). IGI Global.
Kopinska, M., & Azkarai, A. (2020). Exploring young EFL learners’ motivation: Individual versus pair work on dictogloss tasks. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 10, 607–630.
Lăpădat, L., & Lapadat, M. M. (2024). The Importance of motivation in foreign language learning. Scientific Bulletin of the Politehnica University of Timişoara Transactions on Modern Languages, 22(1), 142–152.
Lee, I. (2016). EFL writing in schools. In R. M. Manchon & P. K. Matsuda (Eds.), Handbook of second and foreign language writing (pp. 113–139). De Gryter.
Luo, A., & Wei, X. (2023). The impact of parents’ involvement in primary school students’ English learning. Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, 8, 93–97. https://doi.org/10.54097/ehss.v8i.4232
Megaiab, M. M. A. (2014). The English writing competence of the students of Indonesian senior high school. WEI International Academic Conference Proceedings, 2014, 187–192.
Mihaljević Djigunović, J. (1999). O afektivnim aspektima [On affective aspects]. In Y. Vrhovac (Ed.), Strani jezik u osnovnoj školi [Foreign language in primary school] (pp. 31–38). Naprijed.
Mihaljević Djigunović, J., & Nikolov, M. (2019). Motivation of young learners of foreign languages. In M. Lamb, K. Csizér, A. Henry, & S. Ryan, (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of motivation for language learning (pp. 515–533). Palgrave Macmillan.
Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia (2019). Kurikulum nastavnog predmeta Engleski jezik za osnovne škole i gimnazije [Curriculum for the English language course in primary and secondary schools].
Nasser, S. M. (2019). Iraqi EFL students’ difficulties in writing composition: An experimental study (University of Baghdad). International Journal of English Linguistics, 9(1), 178–184.
Noels, K. A., Clément, R., & Pelletier, L. G. (1999). Perceptions of teachers’ communicative style and students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The Modern Language Journal, 83(1), 23–34.
Oktavia, D., Mukminin, A., Marzulina, L., Harto, K. Erlina, D., & Holandyah, M. (2022). Challenges and strategies used by English teachers in teaching English language skills to young learners. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 12(2), 382–387.
Pajares, F., & Valiante, G. (1999). Grade level and gender differences in the writing self-beliefs of middle school students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 24, 390–405. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1998.0995
Pajares, F., Valiante, G., & Cheong, Y. F. (2007). Writing self-efficacy and its relation to gender, writing motivation and writing competence: A developmental perspective. In S. Hidi & P. Boscolo (Eds.), Writing and motivation (pp. 141–159). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1572-6304(2006)0000019010
Pinter, A. (2017). Teaching young language learners (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Riazi, M., Shi, L., & Haggerty, J. (2018). Analysis of the empirical research in the Journal of Second Language Writing at its 25th year (1992-2016). Journal of Second Language Writing, 41, 41–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2018.07.002
Richards, J. C., & Renandya, W. A. (2002). Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice. Cambridge University Press.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000a). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definition and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54–67.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000b). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68–78.
Sasmita, Y., & Setyowati, L. (2021). Problems faced by EFL students in learning to write. Linguista: Jurnal Ilmiah Bahasa, Sastra, dan Pembelajarannya. 5(11), 11–25. https://doi.org/10.25273/linguista.v5i1.9404
Setyowati, L., & Sukmawan, S. (2016). EFL Indonesian students’ attitude toward writing in English. AWEJ Journal, 7(4), 365–378.
Setyowati, L., & Qibtiyah, M. (2017). The eight graders writing attitude toward EFL writing in Indonesian context. International Journal of Languages’ Education and Teaching, 5(3), 422–433.
Shak, J., & Gardner, S. (2008). Young learner perspectives on four focus-on-form tasks. Language Teaching Research, 12(3), 387–408.
Shen, B., Bai, B., & Park, M. (2020). Exploring Hong Kong primary students’ English writing motivation: Relationships between writing self-efficacy and task value. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 44(4), 324–338. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2020.1823397
Smith, S. A. (2018). Digital environments and motivation among young ESL learners. In J. I. Liontas (Ed.), The TESOL encyclopedia of English language teaching (pp. 1–8). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Sogutlu, E., & Veliaj-Ostrosi, M. (2022). EFL learners’ challenges in essay writing: the case of a non-public high school in Albania. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(4), 3958–3981.
Spanou, S., & Zafiri, M. (2019). Teaching reading and writing skills to young learners in English as a foreign language using blogs: A case study. Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 7, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.2478/jolace-2019-0009
Srinivas Rao, P. (2019). Effective teaching of writing skills to the English language learners. International Journal of English Language, Literature and Translation Studies, 6(4), 196–205. https://doi.org/10.33329/ijelr.64.196
Stefanović, S., Mijušković, M., & Danilović, J. (2008, May 13-15). Unapređenje procesa pisanja u nastavi engleskoga jezika [Enhancing the writing process in English language teaching] [Paper presentation]. Quality Festival 2008, Kragujevac, Republic of Serbia. https://www.cqm.rs/2008/pdf/35/22.pdf
Swandi, I., & Netto-Shek, J.A. (2017). Teaching writing at the primary levels. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 7(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v7i1.6852
Tillema, M. (2012). Writing in first and second language Empirical studies on text quality and writing processes [Doctoral dissertation, University of Utrecht]. University of Utrecht, LOT. https://www.lotpublications.nl/Documents/299_fulltext.pdf
Trinh, Q. L., & Nguyen, T. T. (2014). Enhancing Vietnamese learners’ ability in writing argumentative essays. The Journal of Asia TEFL, 11(2), 63–91.
Trüb, R. (2022). An empirical study of EFL writing at primary school. Narr Francke Attempto. https://doi.org/10.24053/9783823395430
Tuan, L. T. (2010). Enhancing EFL learners’ writing skill via journal writing. English Language Teaching, 3(3), 81–88.
Ur, P. (2012). A course in English language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Ushioda, E., & Dörnyei, Z. (2009). Motivation, language identities and the L2 self: A theoretical overview. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Second language acquisition series (pp. 1–9). Multilingual Matters.
Vickov, G., & Jakupčević, E. (2022). Pisanje na (engleskome kao) stranome jeziku u ranoj školskoj dobi [Writing in (English as a) foreign language in early school age]. Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Splitu.
Vickov, G., & Jakupčević, E. (2025). Young language learners’ attitudes towards writing in English: the case of first and second graders. Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language), 19(1), 21–44. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15210358
Wallace, M. P., & Leong, E. (2020). Exploring language learning motivation among primary EFL learners. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 11(2), 221–230. http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1102.10
Williams, M., & Burden, R. L. (1997). Psychology for language teachers: A social constructivist approach. Cambridge University Press.
Yousefifard, S., & Fathi, J. (2021). Exploring the impact of blogging in English classrooms: Focus on the ideal writing self of EFL learners. International Journal of Instruction, 14(4), 913–932. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2021.14452a
Zergollern-Miletić, L. (2007). Ovladanost vještinom pisanja na engleskome jeziku na kraju osnovnoškolskog i srednjoškolskog obrazovanja kod hrvatskih učenika [Mastery of Writing Skills in English at the End of Primary and Secondary Education among Croatian Students]. Metodika 8(1), 190–204.
