VISUALIZING IDEAS: THE ROLE OF MIND MAPPING IN ENHANCING WRITING SKILLS IN ELT CONTEXTS
Keywords:
Mind mapping, writing skill, English Language Teaching (ELT), University Student, Pre-writing strategy, Academic writing, EFL Learners, Idea Organization, Learner AutonomyAbstract
This study investigates the use of mind mapping as an instructional tool to enhance university students’ writing skills in English Language Teaching (ELT). Writing in a second language often presents challenges such as lack of organization, limited vocabulary, and difficulty in generating ideas. Mind mapping, as a visual and cognitive strategy, supports students in planning and structuring their writing more effectively. The research focuses on how mind mapping can assist in the pre-writing stage, helping students to brainstorm, categorize, and connect ideas logically before composing their texts. Data were collected through classroom observations, writing assessments, and student reflections at a university-level writing course. The results reveal that students who utilized mind maps demonstrated improved coherence and cohesion in their essays, greater confidence in expressing ideas, and a clearer understanding of paragraph and essay structure. Moreover, the use of mind maps was found to promote learner autonomy and critical thinking. The study concludes that integrating mind mapping into academic writing instruction at the tertiary level can be a valuable approach to improving the quality of students’ written outputs in ELT contexts.
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