EXPLORING STUDENTS’ INTERESTS AND CHALLENGES IN WRITING FICTION IN CREATIVE WRITING CLASS
Abstract
ABSTRACT
This article explored students' interests and challenges in writing fiction in EFL creative writing classes. The study used a qualitative approach involving 43 college students studying creative writing as the subjects of the study. Research instruments for this study were questionnaires and interviews, the first of which asked students what genres of fiction they were interested in, and the second confirmed their motivations in writing the fiction genre and their challenges in writing fiction. Data from questionnaires were analysed using percentages, while data from the interviews were analysed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Findings of the study revealed that (1) most students (53.5%) were interested in and preferred writing romance fiction, and (2) most students experienced challenges in writing short stories including difficulties in developing an exciting story, deciding on a plot and elaborate dialogues, and defining the characters in the story.
ABSTRAK
Penelitiaan ini mengeksplorasi minat dan tantangan mahasiswa dalam menulis fiksi di kelas menulis kreatif EFL. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan melibatkan 43 mahasiswa yang mempelajari penulisan kreatif sebagai subjek penelitian. Instrumen penelitian untuk penelitian ini adalah kuesioner dan wawancara, yang pertama menanyakan kepada siswa genre fiksi apa yang mereka minati, dan yang kedua mengkonfirmasi motivasi mereka dalam menulis genre fiksi dan tantangan mereka dalam menulis fiksi. Data hasil kuesioner dianalisis dengan persentase, sedangkan data hasil wawancara dianalisis dengan analisis tematik (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Temuan penelitian ini mengungkapkan bahwa (1) sebagian besar siswa (53,5%) tertarik dan lebih suka menulis fiksi roman, dan (2) sebagian besar siswa mengalami tantangan dalam menulis cerita pendek termasuk kesulitan dalam mengembangkan cerita yang menarik, menentukan plot dan dialog yang terperinci, dan mendefinisikan karakter dalam cerita.
How to Cite: Dewi, U., Siregar, F. R. (2022). Exploring Students’ Interests and Challenges in Writing Fiction in Creative Writing Class. IJEE (Indonesian Journal of English Education), 9(2), 359-371. doi:10.15408/ijee.v9i2.28372
Keywords
References
Ainia, N. (2020). Students’ interest in learning English of lleventh-grade students SMA Negeri 1 Sukodadi. 7(2).
Ali, S., & Ramana, V. (2018). Academic writing challenges at universities in Saudi Arabia and solutions. International Journal of English Language and Humanities, 4(10), 291–298.
Alisha, F., Safitri, N., Santoso, I., & Siliwangi, I. (2019). Students difficulties in writing EFL. Project, Volume 2(1).
Aulia, F. (2019). An Analysis of Students’ Ability and Difficulty in Writing Narrative Text.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. In Qualitative Research in Psychology (Vol. 3, Issue 2). https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Vol. 3rd ed.
Harshini, P. (2020). Creative writing and its influence in the generation of language sills: A creative approach. Journal of Critical Reviews, 7(4), 186–188. https://doi.org/10.31838/jcr.07.04.32
Lipstein, R., & Renninger, K. A. (2007). Swarthmore college works educational studies faculty works interest for writing: How teachers can make a difference. http://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-education
Masie, S. R., Siswanto, W., Pratiwi, Y., & Suwignyo, H. (2018). The literacies effectiveness of short story writing learning model. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 9(2), 391. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0902.23
Milhorn, H. T. (2006). Writing genre fiction: A guide to the craft. De Rebus, 9–11.
Moses, R. N., & Mohamad, M. (2019). Challenges faced by students and teachers on writing skills in ESL contexts: A literature review. Creative Education, 10(13), 3385–3391. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2019.1013260
Parimala, G., & Rajendra Karmarkar, P. (2022). Historical fiction and Hilary Mantel. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 7(1), 2456–7620. https://doi.org/10.22161/ijels
Pitaloka, R. (2019). A content analysis of male and female students’ differences in writing English fiction at sixth semester of English education study program [Thesis]. IAIN Bengkulu.
Pratiwi, N. Y. (2019). The analysis of problems encountered by beginner writer in writing short story: A case study in creative writing class. Indonesian Journal of Educational Research and Review, 2(3).
Olehlova, I. and P. I. (2016). Creative writing. In Agenda (Vol. 49, Issues 3–4). Estonian UNESCO Youth Association in cooperation with Piepildīto Sapņu Istaba and Cooperativa Braccianti. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429261114-7
Ryan Rish, B. M. (2011). Engaging adolescents’ interests, literacy practices, and identities: Digital collaborative writing of fantasy fiction.
Nugraha, D. S. A. (2021). Problems encountered by students in online creative writing class and solutions. Edulingua, 8(2).
Thi, D., & Anh, N. (n.d.). EFL student’s writing skills: Challenges and remedies. 9(6), 74–84. https://doi.org/10.9790/7388-0906017484
Tri, S. (2014). Teaching style and students’ interest in learning English. Jurnal Penelitian Universitas Jambi Seri Humaniora, 8(33), 44. https://ipsas.upm.edu.my/upload/dokumen/IISS_022.pdf
Uswar, Y., & Andriani, N. (2019). EFL students’ ability in writing reviews for a novel at a university in Medan. Studies in English Language and Education, 6(2), 300–308. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v6i2.14784.
DOI: 10.15408/ijee.v9i2.28372
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
