Investigating iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ writing skills based on principal component analysis

Abstract

Identifying EFL writing components involves an intricate network of principles and approaches that also involve assessment models. Methods of teaching and assessing writing are normally compatible with the purposes or expectations of writing-specific courses/programs. This study investigated the most important academic writing constructs in Iranian EFL students based on principal component analysis. To this end, an Oxford Placement Test (OPT) was administered and based on its results, 60 (out of 114) Iranian EFL male and female learners from Islamic Azad University, Broujerd Branch, Iran, were randomly selected as the homogeneous sample of the study. Additionally, 100 EFL teachers from four language institutes were asked to participate. Three instruments were used, namely OPT, a survey questionnaire, and writing tasks. The data were analyzed through principal component analysis. The findings revealed that the most important constructs in the Iranian EFL students’ writing skills were “mode”, “assessment”, and “mechanics”, respectively. The findings of the study suggested implications for L2 writing improvement from a practical and theoretical perspective. The findings, more specifically, could shed light on current practices and theories, and could prove useful for practitioners and future studies in the field of second language writing.