awej 5 no.4 full issue 2014

AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014The Effects of Writing Intervention ProgramSamaranayake & Gabaynodifference of 3.15. When compared the mean scores of the pretest (M=9.36) to the Finalsemesterexamination (M=15.89) of the study group, the mean difference is 6.53 which issignificantly a higher value which clearly testify that the study group made a significant progressin writing from pretest to the final-semester examination. In other words, according to, One-WayANOVA summary in Table 2, F –value (29.19) and the P-value (0.0001) are higher across thethree sets of scores (pretest, Mid-semester and Final-semester examinations). F-ratio tells usmeasured differences within groups and measured differences between groups (Nunan & Bailey,2009). Therefore, it can be considered that this kind of significance is due to the treatment wherethe pilot study group was taught using context-specific materials through process genre approach(independent variable).When the results of a study are analyzed quantitatively, statistical significance of data indicatesthat findings of that research are stable. Therefore, given the description provided by Nunan andBailey (2009), findings of our study related to the research question as stated above can bereliable. Moreover, given the higher value of F- (29.19) in the study group, it is evident that theaverage performance of the individual subjects on writing had improved from the pretest to theFinal-semester examination.Based on the findings of the study group which was taught using the process genreapproach, it can be asserted that instructional procedure which consisted of teacher preparedmaterials in addition to the use of the prescribed textbook (Ready to Write-2) and the processgenre approach were useful for the foundation level students at Shinas College to perform betterin the Final-semester examination than in the pretest and Mid-semester examination. Given thesuccess of the instructional procedure as discussed above, it can be concluded that the hypothesiswhich the researchers had formed at the beginning of the study in an attempt to answer theresearch question, “The application of the process genre approach and context-specific materialsin writing interventions help tertiary level EFL students perform better in an examinationsetting”, can be accepted.Limitations and delimitation of the studyAs noted above, the current study did not deal with other language proficiencies such asspeaking, listening and reading even though they are also important aspects of languageproficiency. This study focuses on academic writing proficiency because it will allow us to gainan understanding of the usefulness of applying the process genre approach to improve writingproficiency of EFL college level students who are the focus in this pilot study. Moreover, theoutcomes of this study cannot be generalized to learners who are not cognitively mature enoughto carry out the writing tasks suggested in the prescribed textbook for Foundation level 3students and whose educational level is different from the subjects in the current study eventhough they study academic writing in similar situations and levels at other educationalinstitutions both in and outside of Oman.ConclusionIn conclusion, this paper has presented the findings of a pilot study based on the quantitative datagathered during the study. The major findings of the study include the results of comparingwriting performance in the pretest, Mid-semester and Final-semester examinations within thestudy group. On the whole, given the values of F (29.19) and P (0.001) calculated using One-Way (ANOVA) indicated that the study group which was instructed using the Process genreapproach in writing had performed better in the Final-semester examination than in the pretestArab World English JournalISSN: 2229-9327www.awej.org142