Writing Anxiety and the Use of Subordinate Clauses in the Written Compositions of Jordanian EFL Undergraduate Students

Abstract

The present study aimed to explore the correlation between writing anxiety and the an aspect of the grammatical complexity of Jordanian EFL students’ written compositions, i.e. the use of subordinate clauses. Eighty seven students, who were purposefully chosen from among the freshmen and senior students at Al-Balqa Applied University participated in the study. Writing Anxiety Inventory (WAI) was used in order to collect the data during the first semester of the academic year 2017/ 2018. The findings of the study showed statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the freshmen and senior students in both the levels of writing anxiety and the number of subordinate clauses used in written compositions, in favor of the group of senior students. In addition, a significant correlation was found between the level of writing anxiety and the grammatical complexity of the written compositions of the participants of the study, as reflected in their use of subordinate clauses. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research are presented.