English Writing Enjoyment Scale (EWES)

Abstract

The English Writing Enjoyment Scale (EWES), developed by Jin in 2023, is a 9-item instrument designed to measure foreign language (FL) writing enjoyment in the context of learning English among Chinese university students. The creation of this scale was prompted by a recognized gap in assessments for FL writing enjoyment specifically for Chinese students. The theoretical foundation for the measure’s development is Scherer’s (2000) component process model of emotion, supplemented by insights from a range of previous literature (Jin et al. 2022; Pekrun et al., 2011; Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2016; Saito et al., 2018; Jin & Zhang, 2019; 2021; Botes et al., 2021;Wang & MacIntyre, 2021; Wang et al., 2021; Tahmouresi & Papi, 2021; Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Kalkbrenner, 2021). The initial item pool was derived from a self-narrative inquiry with students, which established thirty thematic categories. From these, the 11 most frequently endorsed categories were selected to form the basis of the EWES. The scale was administered to four distinct groups of university students in China who were majoring in English and whose first language was Chinese. Through the application of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, a final unidimensional structure was established, retaining 9 items. The study reported on the scale’s internal consistency and construct validity.

Keywords

English as a Foreign Language; English Language Learning; Foreign Language Writing Enjoyment; Learning English; Positive Emotions; Skills-Specific Enjoyment; Educational Measures; English as Second Language; Foreign Language Education; Foreign Language Learning; Pleasure; Student Attitudes; Writing Skills; Academic Writing

Authors

Jin, Yinxing

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Purpose

The primary objective of this measure is to provide an assessment of foreign-language writing enjoyment among students whose first language is Chinese.

Construct

The scale is designed to measure the construct of English Writing Enjoyment.

Validity

Evidence for construct validity was established through several correlations. The English Writing Enjoyment Scale (EWES) demonstrated a significant positive correlation with the English Writing Enjoyment Indicator (EWEI; Jin & Dewaele, 2018; Jin et al., 2022). A significant positive correlation was also identified between the EWES and the English Reading Enjoyment Scale (ERES; Jin et al., 2022). Conversely, a negative correlation was found between the EWES and the English Writing Anxiety Scale (EWAS; Cheng, 2017). Furthermore, the EWES showed a significant positive relationship with the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PAES; Chen et al., 2019), although this correlation was of a moderate-to-low level.

Reliability

The internal consistency of the scale was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha across three different participant groups, yielding coefficients of .94, .95, and .94. These results are indicative of the scale’s excellent internal reliability.

Factor Analysis

A Principal Components Analysis was conducted, which resulted in a single-factor solution that retained nine items. The factor loadings for all retained items were above .70, and this single factor explained 68.78% of the total variance. Additionally, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed. The results showed that all model fit indices for the single-factor, 9-item EWES were satisfactory when compared against the predetermined criteria.

Instrument

• Test Type: Original

• Format: This instrument is a rating scale that utilizes a 5-point Likert format, with responses labeled as: strongly disagree (1), disagree (2), neither agree nor disagree (3), agree (4), and strongly agree (5).

• Language Available: Chinese; English

• Population Group: Human; Male; Female

• Age Group: Adulthood (18 years and older)

• Population Details: The scale was developed for and tested on English Major University Students located in China.

• Test Methodology: The development and validation process involved Test Validity, Construct Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and Principal Component Analysis.

Keywords

English as a Foreign Language; English Language Learning; Foreign Language Writing Enjoyment; Learning English; Positive Emotions; Skills-Specific Enjoyment; Educational Measures; English as Second Language; Foreign Language Education; Foreign Language Learning; Pleasure; Student Attitudes; Writing Skills; Academic Writing

Authors

• Author: Jin, Yinxing

• Author ORCID Identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8662-891X

• Affiliation: Hainan Normal University, School of Foreign Languages

• Email addresses: [email protected]

• Correspondence Address: Jin, Yinxing: Hainan Normal University, School of Foreign Languages, 99# South Longkun Road, Hainan Province, Haikou, China, 571158, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

• Permissions: The scale may be used for Research/Teaching purposes.

• Commercial: No

• Fee: No

• Test Year: 2023

Reference’s

Jin, Y. (2023). The development and validation of the English Writing Enjoyment Scale. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 130(1), 555–575. https://doi.org/10.1177/00315125221137649

Items of the English Writing Enjoyment Scale

This measure consists of 9 items. The full list of test items is available in the original publication by Jin (2023), specifically within Table 3 on page 566 of the article.

Item	Statement
9.	I feel satisfied in English writing. (英语写作过程中, 我感到满意)
7.	I have a smile on face in English writing. (英语写作过程中, 我会面露笑容)
6.	My inspiration keeps emerging in English writing. (英语写作过程中, 我灵感不断涌现)
1.	I feel happy in English writing. (英语写作过程中, 我感到愉快)
10.	I feel excited in English writing. (英语写作过程中, 我感到兴奋)
4.	I think smoothly in English writing. (英语写作过程中, 我思维顺畅)
8.	I feel relaxed in English writing. (英语写作过程中, 我感到放松)
3.	I want to continue in English writing. (英语写作过程中, 我想持续写下去)
2.	I feel a sense of accomplishment in English writing. (英语写作过程中, 我感到有成就感)