Improving the writing skills and attitudes of Turkish EFL sixth graders through diary writing

Learning a second or a foreign language requires the mastery of the four language skills: reading, writing. speaking and listening. Writing in a second language is regarded as one of the productive skills to acquire and is often neglected. In Turkey, the curriculum of English for lower secondary education (from the fifth to the eighth grade) aims at not only learning a foreign language, but also using it as a tool to communicate and increase positive attitudes towards learning a foreign language. Starting from this point of view, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of diary writing on the writing skills of sixth grade English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners at a state secondary school in Mersin, Turkey. 60 EFL learners studying in the sixth grade were recruited in this mixed-method research design study that used pre-test and post-tests. 30 participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group while the other 30 participants were randomly assigned to the control group. In order to get in-depth data, both qualitative and quantitative data collection instruments were used. A five-point Likert-type scale was applied to all the participants as a pre-test and post-test to elicit their attitudes towards writing in a second language. Besides, the participants were asked to write a diary entry which served as a pre-test and post-test instrument to assess their writing ability. Instructed and guided on how to write a diary entry before starting diary writing activities, the participants in the experimental group were asked to write a diary entry twice a week for a duration of eight weeks. After the intervention was over, some of these participants were interviewed in an attempt to collect more detailed reflections to support the quantitative data. The findings of the study revealed that the participants in the experimental group developed more positive attitudes towards writing in L2, and their writing scores were statistically more significant when compared to their control group counterparts. Keywords: Diary writing in L2, improving EFL writing skills, attitudes towards EFL writing