Instructor misbehaviors as predictors of students’ writing apprehension

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to identify how instructor misbehaviors influence students’ writing apprehension. Research prior to this study determined that students’ writing performance is hindered by their writing apprehension (e.g., Zabihi, 2018). The present study’s data indicate instructor misbehaviors of antagonism and lectures indirectly influence students’ writing apprehension through the mediation of students’ burnout. As such, the more instructors show antagonism and engage in boring, disorganized lecturing behaviors, the higher their students’ writing apprehension. Without careful communication management, professors of writing-intensive courses whose primary role is to help students improve their writing skills may become the barrier that prevents students from improving their writing skills.