Students' emotional experiences in writing English essays: A thematic narrative analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58712/se.v2i2.142Keywords:
EFL learners, EFL writing, L2 writing, thematic narrative analysis, writing emotionsAbstract
This study explores students’ emotional experiences during the process of writing English essays in an EFL context. The study investigates the emotions students encounter, how these emotions influence their writing engagement and performance, and how students construct meaning from their emotional experiences. This qualitative study employed thematic narrative analysis involving five undergraduate students from the English Department at Universitas Negeri Makassar, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and four-week reflective journals and analyzed by identifying recurring emotional themes while preserving participants’ narrative experiences and reflections. The findings reveal that students experienced anxiety, self-doubt, motivation, relief, and emotional responses to feedback throughout different stages of writing. These emotions significantly influenced students’ confidence, engagement, and writing performance. The study further found that emotional experiences operated as an interconnected emotional system in which anxiety, confidence, motivation, and feedback responses continuously influenced one another throughout the writing process. In addition, students interpreted anxiety as evidence of linguistic limitations while perceiving improvement and supportive feedback as sources of confidence and motivation. This study contributes to EFL writing research by highlighting the dynamic and interconnected nature of emotional experiences and demonstrating the value of thematic narrative analysis in exploring students’ emotional journeys and meaning-making processes in EFL writing contexts.
Downloads
References
An, H., & Li, S. (2024). Task-specific writing anxiety and self-efficacy are separate from general L2 writing anxiety and self-efficacy and they have differential associations with the effects of written corrective feedback in pre-task and within-task planning. System, 126, 103480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2024.103480
Arfiandhani, P., & Takeuchi, O. (2025). The interplay of grit, enjoyment, and self-efficacy among Indonesian pre-service EFL teachers: an SEM analysis. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 10(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-025-00330-3
Bandura, A. (1997). Albert Bandura Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. In W.H Freeman and Company New York (Vol. 43, Number 9). Cambridge University Pres.
Cheng, Y. S. (2004). A measure of second language writing anxiety: Scale development and preliminary validation. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2004.07.001
Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (2004). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research. In Visual Arts Research (Vol. 27, Number 1). John Wiley & Sons.
Daly, J. A. (1978). Writing Apprehension and Writing Competency. The Journal of Educational Research, 72(1), 10–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.1978.10885110
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4). https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
Flower, L., & Hayes, J. R. (1981). A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing. College Composition & Communication, 32(4). https://doi.org/10.58680/ccc198115885
Hyland, K. (2003). Second Language Writing. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511667251
Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. In Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A (Vol. 30, Number 8). Elsevier Science & Technology.
Pajares, F. (2003). Self-efficacy beliefs, motivation, and achievement in writing: A review of the literature. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/10573560308222
Putra, I. K. J. P., Padmadewi, N. N., & Ratminingsih, N. M. (2024). Students’ Writing Anxiety in Learning English as a Foreign Language. The Art of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TATEFL), 5(1), 11–20. https://doi.org/10.36663/tatefl.v5i1.648
Rahmani, M., van Mulukom, V., & Farias, M. (2023). Believing in the Powers of Mindfulness: A Thematic Narrative Approach and the Development of a New Scale. Mindfulness, 14(7). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02164-x
Razmi, M. H., & Ghane, M. H. (2024). The impact of written corrective feedback on students’ writing performance, self-efficacy, and anxiety. Journal of Writing Research, 16(2). https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2024.16.02.04
Riessman, C. K. (2008). Narrative Methods for the Human Sciences. Sage Publications.
Ro’ufiyati, D. F., & Mahbub, Moh. A. (2023). Students’ essay writing anxiety: A narrative study of Indonesian tertiary EFL learners. JEES (Journal of English Educators Society), 8(1). https://doi.org/10.21070/jees.v8i1.1717
Zhang, Q., & Jing, S. (2026). Predicting online learning persistence in EFL contexts: The interplay of L2 grit, self-efficacy, and learner satisfaction. Acta Psychologica, 264, 106484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.106484
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Harnita Rosalia, Andi Nurul Annisa Budiman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
STKIP PESISIR SELATAN 
