The Role of Formal Schemata in the Development of Précis Writing in an Iranian EFL Context

Background knowledge and learners’ familiarity with formal schematic knowledge is of primary importance for EFL learners in writing an acceptable summary. Schema theory can help instructors focus on the discrepancy between the prior knowledge and experience that students bring to the learning task and the skills that are needed to successfully carry out and complete the particular learning task. The objective of this research is to explore the role of formal schemata in the development of EFL learners’ précis writing; therefore, it is hypothesized that familiarity with the formal schematic knowledge of the texts will result in better performances of the EFL learners in précis writing. To answer the proposed question, two classes were chosen in Tabriz Islamic Azad University, each comprising 40 English majors, one as a control group and the other as an experimental group. The control group received no special treatment, while the experimental group received the treatment which was familiarization with formal schematic knowledge of the texts. The findings of the study indicated clearly that the experimental group learners performed better in their précis than the control group. The drawn implication of this study was that not all of the writing problems of the students were due to the lack of needed formal schemata but that, the existent schemata must be activated by the help of the teacher to improve the writing process.