A Systematic Review: Strategies to Reduce Writing Apprehension

Abstract

Writing apprehension is not a new problem faced by most ESL (English as a second language) /EFL (English as a foreign language) learners. There are many studies done to determine the reasons and suitable strategies to overcome this issue. In the present study, an analysis of a systematic review based on the past studies published between 2012 and 2022 on strategies to reduce writing apprehension is presented. A total of seventeen articles were reviewed in a detailed search procedure. The main goal of this systematic review is to demonstrate an empirical information formulation discovered through different techniques in previous scholarly research on strategies to reduce writing apprehension. In this systematic study, there are two study questions to be addressed: i) What strategies should be used to reduce writing apprehension in ESL/EFL classrooms? ii) How should the defined strategy be effectively applied in ESL/EFL Classrooms? The findings of the reviews revealed that there are five main strategies: Behaviour strategy, interaction strategies, process-based strategies, technology integrated strategies and genre-based strategies. Collaborative learning was mostly employed in ESL/EFL classrooms. The findings indicated peer feedback as one of the components of collaborative learning. It is mostly employed by ESL/EFL learners as it reduces learners' writing apprehension and improves their writing skills.