Using Think- aloud protocol to investigate the writing strategy use

This case study was conducted to investigate the relationship between strategies used by EFL learners in writing process and their writing proficiency in two phases. In the preliminary phase, the intention was to elicit the students¿ writing strategies, using ¿think aloud¿ technique. To this end, five MA TEFL students were asked to write a composition while loudly reflecting everything going on in their minds as they were going through the processes of writing. Having recorded their reports, the researcher transcribed them to be analyzed, and developed a questionnaire based on the elicited strategies. The questionnaire contains 52 items and is classified, into four categories: cognitive strategies, metacognitive strategies, affective strategies, and compensatory strategies. In the second stage, larger samples were asked to answer a 52-items questionnaire. The results of the present study shows that there is a positive correlation (r=49) between students' scores in their advanced writing course and their levels of strategy use. As the results showed the metacognitive strategy was the most frequently strategy used and affective strategy was the least frequent one.