The impact of an emotional literacy intervention on students’ composing processes in EFL integrated writing tasks

The use of source text distinguishes integrated writing tasks from traditional independent writing tasks. This study investigated how source texts with high emotional content, along with instruction on emotional literacy, affect the quality of L2 student writers’ composing processes in integrated writing tasks. 46 Iranian EFL learners were assigned to two groups for a 12-week pedagogic intervention: the reading-to-write (RW) group worked with source texts with minimal emotional load, while the ‘emotionalised’ reading-to-write (ERW) group, received input texts with high emotional content and instruction on emotional literacy. Data on achievement in an integrated writing task were gathered through a pre-test post-test design. Concurrent verbal protocols and post-hoc interviews were used to gain in-depth understanding of the writing processes learners engaged in. The results showed that the ERW students adopted some qualitatively different composing processes compared with the RW group. There was also greater improvement in the quality of essays written by the ERW group. The results provide evidence that using source texts with high emotional content and focusing attention on emotional literacy may enhance students’ engagement in reading-to-write tasks. It may encourage them to have greater self-awareness as writers and focus more effectively on the potential reactions of their readers.