Problem. Questions have been raised regarding the number of limited-English-proficient students who enter undergraduate schools every year. This study was designed to look at the effectiveness of the Writing Workshop model in improving English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) college students' writing skills in a small liberal arts university in Puerto Rico.
Method. Students registered in two Intermediate English-as-a-Second-Language writing classes were asked to take a pretest-posttest related to writing skills and a pretest-posttest related to composition skills to indicate their level of agreement for each of the 22 statements on a Likert-type (survey) instrument--strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (4)--related to their attitudes toward learning and writing in English. They were also asked to indicate to what extent the Writing Workshop helped them improve their writing skills on a Likert-type (survey) instrument--never (1) to very much (5). Descriptive statistics and a paired samples t test were used to answer the research questions. The sample size was 35; however, some fluctuations were registered because of absences to class.
Results. The results indicated that, in general, participants in the survey had a positive attitude toward learning and writing in English. There was a significant difference in writing skills based on the pretest and posttest (p < 0.05). There was a positive difference in composition skills based on pretest and posttest (p< 0.05) for the Writing Workshop class with the highest percentage of limited-proficient students. Finally, students from both groups acknowledged that the Writing Workshop had helped them to better understand the writing process. Students perceived classroom environment, peer response, collaborative writing and speaking as the components that helped them the most in improving their writing skills.
Conclusion. In general, the Writing Workshop has been effective in helping students improve their writing skills. This study provides evidence of the Writing Workshop as a promising tool that can be used to enhance ESL students' writing skills in Puerto Rico.
","abstract_html":"<p><em>Problem. </em> Questions have been raised regarding the number of limited-English-proficient students who enter undergraduate schools every year. This study was designed to look at the effectiveness of the Writing Workshop model in improving English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) college students' writing skills in a small liberal arts university in Puerto Rico.</p> <p><em>Method.</em> Students registered in two Intermediate English-as-a-Second-Language writing classes were asked to take a pretest-posttest related to writing skills and a pretest-posttest related to composition skills to indicate their level of agreement for each of the 22 statements on a Likert-type (survey) instrument--strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (4)--related to their attitudes toward learning and writing in English. They were also asked to indicate to what extent the Writing Workshop helped them improve their writing skills on a Likert-type (survey) instrument--never (1) to very much (5). Descriptive statistics and a paired samples <em>t</em> test were used to answer the research questions. The sample size was 35; however, some fluctuations were registered because of absences to class.</p> <p><em>Results. </em>The results indicated that, in general, participants in the survey had a positive attitude toward learning and writing in English. There was a significant difference in writing skills based on the pretest and posttest (<em>p</em> < 0.05). There was a positive difference in composition skills based on pretest and posttest (<em>p</em>< 0.05) for the Writing Workshop class with the highest percentage of limited-proficient students. Finally, students from both groups acknowledged that the Writing Workshop had helped them to better understand the writing process. Students perceived classroom environment, peer response, collaborative writing and speaking as the components that helped them the most in improving their writing skills.</p> <p><em>Conclusion.</em> In general, the Writing Workshop has been effective in helping students improve their writing skills. This study provides evidence of the Writing Workshop as a promising tool that can be used to enhance ESL students' writing skills in Puerto Rico.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Agésilas, Marie Jacqueline"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Curriculum and Instruction PhD","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Judith A. Anderson","O. Jane Thayer","Edwin Hernandez"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2002,"date_issued":"2002-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2002-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:53:14Z","subjects":["Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Education","Higher Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/197","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Judith A. Anderson","O. Jane Thayer","Edwin Hernandez"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Agésilas, Marie Jacqueline"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Curriculum and Instruction PhD"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Education","Higher Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/197"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Problem. Questions have been raised regarding the number of limited-English-proficient students who enter undergraduate schools every year. This study was designed to look at the effectiveness of the Writing Workshop model in improving English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) college students' writing skills in a small liberal arts university in Puerto Rico.
Method. Students registered in two Intermediate English-as-a-Second-Language writing classes were asked to take a pretest-posttest related to writing skills and a pretest-posttest related to composition skills to indicate their level of agreement for each of the 22 statements on a Likert-type (survey) instrument--strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (4)--related to their attitudes toward learning and writing in English. They were also asked to indicate to what extent the Writing Workshop helped them improve their writing skills on a Likert-type (survey) instrument--never (1) to very much (5). Descriptive statistics and a paired samples t test were used to answer the research questions. The sample size was 35; however, some fluctuations were registered because of absences to class.
Results. The results indicated that, in general, participants in the survey had a positive attitude toward learning and writing in English. There was a significant difference in writing skills based on the pretest and posttest (p < 0.05). There was a positive difference in composition skills based on pretest and posttest (p< 0.05) for the Writing Workshop class with the highest percentage of limited-proficient students. Finally, students from both groups acknowledged that the Writing Workshop had helped them to better understand the writing process. Students perceived classroom environment, peer response, collaborative writing and speaking as the components that helped them the most in improving their writing skills.
Conclusion. In general, the Writing Workshop has been effective in helping students improve their writing skills. This study provides evidence of the Writing Workshop as a promising tool that can be used to enhance ESL students' writing skills in Puerto Rico.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Effectiveness of the Writing Workshop Model to Teach an English-as-a-Second-Language College Writing Course in Puerto Rico: a Look at Students' Outcomes"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Judith A. Anderson","O. Jane Thayer","Edwin Hernandez"],"dc:creator":["Agésilas, Marie Jacqueline"],"dc:description.abstract":["Problem. Questions have been raised regarding the number of limited-English-proficient students who enter undergraduate schools every year. This study was designed to look at the effectiveness of the Writing Workshop model in improving English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) college students' writing skills in a small liberal arts university in Puerto Rico.
Method. Students registered in two Intermediate English-as-a-Second-Language writing classes were asked to take a pretest-posttest related to writing skills and a pretest-posttest related to composition skills to indicate their level of agreement for each of the 22 statements on a Likert-type (survey) instrument--strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (4)--related to their attitudes toward learning and writing in English. They were also asked to indicate to what extent the Writing Workshop helped them improve their writing skills on a Likert-type (survey) instrument--never (1) to very much (5). Descriptive statistics and a paired samples t test were used to answer the research questions. The sample size was 35; however, some fluctuations were registered because of absences to class.
Results. The results indicated that, in general, participants in the survey had a positive attitude toward learning and writing in English. There was a significant difference in writing skills based on the pretest and posttest (p < 0.05). There was a positive difference in composition skills based on pretest and posttest (p< 0.05) for the Writing Workshop class with the highest percentage of limited-proficient students. Finally, students from both groups acknowledged that the Writing Workshop had helped them to better understand the writing process. Students perceived classroom environment, peer response, collaborative writing and speaking as the components that helped them the most in improving their writing skills.
Conclusion. In general, the Writing Workshop has been effective in helping students improve their writing skills. This study provides evidence of the Writing Workshop as a promising tool that can be used to enhance ESL students' writing skills in Puerto Rico.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/197"],"dc:subject":["Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Education","Higher Education"],"dc:title":["The Effectiveness of the Writing Workshop Model to Teach an English-as-a-Second-Language College Writing Course in Puerto Rico: a Look at Students' Outcomes"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Curriculum and Instruction PhD"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:53:14Z"}