The objective of the study is to examine the efficacy of
positive psychology intervention (PPI) techniques in improving EFL students’
writing performance and foreign language enjoyment (FLE). By comparing the
changes in writing performance and FLE between the treatment and control
groups, the researcher could assess the effectiveness or efficacy of the PPI
technique in improving these outcomes for EFL students. Sixty university
students were divided into experimental (n=30) and control (n=30) groups. The
experimental group received PPI scaffolding including emotion regulation,
gratitude, hope, and empathy alongside their writing process. Writing
performance was measured through pre-, post-, and delayed post-tests while FLE
was captured using a validated 21-item, 5-point Likert scale questionnaire
categorized into foreign language enjoyment-private, foreign language
enjoyment-teacher, and foreign language enjoyment-atmosphere. Additionally,
document analysis of student essays, focus group discussions, and classroom
observations were also utilized to support the data gained from the
quantitative phase.
Results showed the experimental group demonstrated
significant effect from pre- to post-test as well as indicated a large effect
size toward all aspects of writing, i.e., organization of content, linguistic
accuracy, originality, fluency, and elaboration, compared to the control group.
In line with the statistical computation results, the findings on document
analysis of students’ essays after the given of PPI treatment demonstrated the
increasing ability of students in organizing their paragraphs, decreasing
grammatical errors, drawing more novel ideas, increasing the word count, and
elaborating more various ideas on their essays. Moreover, alike with the
significant effect in experimental students’ writing performance, the result of
experimental students’ FLE was also significant from pre- to post-test
comparing to the control group students. This result was supported by the
findings from the direct observation that experimental students were seems
enthusiastic towards the PPI treatment on the writing class. The focus group
discussion showed that most of the reason of students’ enjoyment in the writing
class was from the teacher. In this case, the students were grateful to be
taught English writing in different ways so their ability in writing English
essays can be increased.
In conclusion, embedded PPI technique can successfully
has a significant effect on EFL students’ writing ability and positive learning
experience. Pedagogical implications point to PPI as an effective scaffolding
supplement for writing skill development. Further research into optimal PPI
customization and longitudinal impacts is warranted within diverse writing
education contexts. Additionally, teachers can utilize PPI as a reference for
teaching other English language skills, students can independently apply PPI
methods, curriculum developers can integrate PPI essence into English programs,
and future researchers can explore deeper analysis of current PPI aspects or
investigate additional positive psychology facets.