Jordanian PhD students' EFL writing apprehension

Although studies on writing apprehension on native learners of English have been done extensively, studies on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners are scant. In fact, limited studies have examined writing apprehension experienced by EFL postgraduate learners, in particular written academic discourse. Therefore, the study focused on writing apprehension experienced by Jordanian EFL learners when writing their PhD thesis in Malaysia. The objectives of the study were to explore the causes of writing apprehension, to explain the effects of writing apprehension, and to identify the strategies that the Jordanian PhD students used to reduce writing apprehension. Two theories were used in this study, namely Affective theory and socio-cognitive theory. In this qualitative case study, three techniques of data collection were used: interviewing 21 Jordanian PhD students, interviewing nine
supervisors, and also analysing nine PhD proposals. Four main themes emerged pertaining to causes of writing apprehension which are Lack of knowledge in English structure, Negative attitude toward writing, Negative writing experience in the past, and Inadequate knowledge in academic writing. Three main themes which emerged in relation to the effects of writing apprehension were Personal effects, Social effects, and Academic effects. In relation to the strategies employed to reduce writing apprehension, four main strategies were found. They are Behavior strategy, Expert review and feedback strategy, Cognitive strategy, and Affective strategy. The study concluded that writing apprehension was a prevalent phenomenon among the students. All the students admitted experiencing a certain level of writing apprehension either low, moderate or high level. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on writing apprehension related to causes, effects and coping strategies. It highlights internal and external factors which contribute to writing apprehension