Assessment of Student Attitudes in German Writing Learning Based on 21st Century Skills

Students' attitudes towards language learning have two sides, either motivating or even diminishing their learning enthusiasm. The main objectives of this research are first, to assess students' attitudes in learning descriptive writing in German language; second, to develop an attitude assessment model in writing based on 21st-century competencies. This research adopts an exploratory descriptive approach with a sample of 35 high school students. Data were collected through attitude assessment sheets referring to 21st-century educational competencies, namely critical thinking skills, creativity, communication, and collaboration. Data analysis involved categorizing assessment results using average scores from all respondents. The findings indicate a tendency that most students achieve a good level in critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration aspects in learning to write in German. However, there is still a small portion of students who reach a very good level, indicating a gap in students' abilities. The attitude assessment model developed in this research significantly contributes to teachers in measuring students' progress and helps prepare students to become critical, creative, and inspirational decision-makers in various learning situations and daily life. The use of this attitude assessment model shifts the learning paradigm from emphasizing outcomes to developing students' relevant skills for future demands.


Introduction
21st century education demands changes in learning approaches, including in terms of assessment (Care & Kim, 2018;Griffin & Care, 2015;Redecker et al., 2012) .Assessment no longer only focuses on cognitive aspects, but also on affective aspects, such as attitudes (Gable & Wolf, 2012) .In general, attitude can be interpreted as an individual's response or assessment of a particular situation or object based on his opinions and beliefs (Albarracín, 2018;Jena, 2020) .Attitude can be viewed as a process that involves an individual's perception, assessment and response to an object.
According to Maio et al (2018) , attitude can be defined as a tendency to respond to an object or situation in a certain way.This tendency can be influenced by various factors such as past experiences, cultural values, and social environment.Attitude can be a very important factor in shaping individual behavior.Maynard & Parfyonova (2013) see attitude as a psychological process in which learners have a tendency to respond to a situation or object in a certain way.Attitudes can influence individual motivation and learning outcomes.
Attitude assessment is an important aspect because students' attitudes can influence their ability to understand the material taught by the teacher (Blazar & Kraft, 2017;Getie, 2020;Mazana et al., 2019) .This attitude assessment can be carried out through various methods, such as questionnaires, observations and interviews (Harris & Brown, 2019) .Appropriate attitude assessment according to Hwang et al (2015) provides valuable information for teachers in developing more effective and efficient learning strategies.Habók & Magyar (2018) and Tseng et al (2013) suggest that attitude assessment helps teachers to understand students' attitudes towards learning and develop more effective learning strategies.In line with this opinion, Stupple et al (2017) added that attitude assessment increases individual motivation to learn better.
Different from what is explained above, Ramadhani & Ramadan (2022) stated that the attitude assessment carried out by teachers is still not fully in accordance with the planning or design that has been made previously.Even though teachers have tried to be fair in their assessments, there is still a lack of objectivity.Obstacles faced by teachers include a lack of socialization or seminars related to attitude assessment, as well as a lack of teacher understanding of the attitude assessment process.Lazwardi & Paisal (2022) stated that teachers still do not use all the assessment techniques and procedures that have been determined optimally in the learning process.This was confirmed by Sudiana et al (2018) that the attitude assessment carried out by the teacher only used observation assessments using journals, while peer assessments and self-assessments were not carried out because the results of peer assessments and self-assessments did not match the observation assessments carried out by the teacher during learning.Apart from that, teachers have difficulty assessing attitudes because the instruments change, the number of students is large, and the students' characters are different.
Many studies have proven that understanding students' attitudes towards English language learning is crucial in improving their language learning opportunities (Liu et al., 2017;Misbah et al., 2017;Serhan, 2020;Viberg & Grönlund, 2013;Yurdagül & Öz, 2018 ) .Attitude plays an important role in language learning, because it can motivate or demoralize students.Researchers believe that attitude is a fundamental aspect of the language learning process.For example, Genc & Aydin (2017) examined the impact of attitudes and motivation on Turkish students' English learning.The results showed that Turkish students had a positive attitude towards learning English, British and American culture, and they did not experience anxiety in the classroom.
Likewise, Mustafawi et al (2022) found that Qatar University students had a positive attitude towards learning English.The study also showed a positive correlation between respondents' attitudes, their achievements, and their practical need for English.Ali Ahmed et al (2021) researched students' attitudes towards learning English in Iraq involving 861 students.The findings show that students tend to have negative attitudes towards learning English because they feel forced to learn the language.In addition, they experience difficulties in speaking English due to lack of self-confidence, inadequate vocabulary, fear of making mistakes, and lack of opportunities to practice English.Meanwhile, Nduwimana & Arcade (2019) looked at the attitudes of pure science students towards learning English at the University of Burundi.The research results show that students have a positive attitude towards learning English.They consider that English is very important for communication and education in the modern world.Meer et al (2022) explored the attitudes of German secondary school students towards various variations of English language learning.The results showed that the correspondence between the attitudes obtained directly and indirectly indicates that changes in the language curriculum have not affected students' attitudes towards English.Students' attitudes towards language learning can motivate or reduce their enthusiasm.Therefore, it is necessary to carry out an attitude assessment to understand how students behave in learning.There are various techniques for measuring attitudes, including direct observation, questionnaires, and scale techniques.Direct observation records the actual behavior of the individual whose attitudes are being investigated.Questionnaires are used to directly ask respondents' feelings regarding the material.Scale techniques are used to measure attitudes by dividing responses into several groups (Wittenbrink, 2018) .
Previous research by Maulida et al (2020) produced an instrument for assessing social attitudes for 113 students which included honest, disciplined, responsible, caring, polite and confident behavior.Suryani et al (2023) developed seven attitude assessment instruments including: (1) tolerance; (2) responsibility; (3) self-confidence; (4) polite; (5) discipline; and (6) mutual cooperation; and (7) honest.Audina et al (2018) looked at attitude assessment from two aspects, namely spiritual attitudes and social attitudes.Attitude assessment using observation techniques is carried out by teachers directly after recording students' negative attitudes by giving warnings, advice and making letters of agreement.Likewise, Winarti & Rosyidah (2020) carried out an assessment on a self-assessment sheet which was made according to the attitude assessment aspect, so that students' positive character and personality could be identified.The attitude assessments used are tolerance and social attitudes.
From the description of relevant research results above, there is not much research that discusses attitude assessment with reference to 21st century competencies.Previous research developed attitude assessment instruments, while researchers conducted case studies in high school by assessing student attitudes.This research has benefits for the development of attitude assessment in German language learning.With appropriate and effective attitude assessments, it is hoped that it can help improve the quality of learning and develop student character.The aims of this research are (1) to assess students' attitudes in learning to write German and (2) to develop an attitude assessment model in writing learning based on 21st century skills.

Attitude Assessment
Attitudes are evaluations of people, places, things, and ideas.Attitudes help us to navigate through a complex world.Attitudes, beliefs, and behavior are often formed and changed in casual social exchanges (Albarracin & Johnson, 2018).attitudes related to the evaluation of ideas and information, Generally labeled as critical mindedness and containing such things as objectivity, intellectual honesty and caution in drawing conclusions and making decisions (Ekawati, 2017).Moreover, factor analyses revealed three attitudinal factors: (1) positive attitude (a general endorsement of the benefits of peer assessment), (2) interpersonal negative (concerns about the negative effects on interpersonal relationships), and (3) procedural negative (doubts about the procedural rationality of peer assessment).Among the attitudinal factors, procedural negative was negatively associated with participation, as expected.Interestingly, interpersonal negative was associated with greater participation, and positive attitude was associated with lower participation (Zou et al., 2018).So, students' attitudes and behaviors are predicted by teaching practices most proximal to these measures, including teachers' emotional support and classroom organization (Blazar & Kraft, 2017).Teachers who are effective at improving test scores often are not equally effective at improving students' attitudes and behaviors.

Writing
According to Emig (1995), writing as a mode of learning is highly important as it engages individuals in various cognitive processes that enhance understanding and retention of information.In writing, one must analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information before expressing it in words.This process helps develop critical thinking skills as writers delve deeper into the topic, question assumptions, and consider various perspectives.Klein & Boscolo (2016) said that writing involves stages of exploration, understanding, reasoning, and reflection that allow writers to organize and express their ideas.Holmes (2018) describes writing as a conversation with oneself where writers can explore, doubt, and question their own thoughts and develop a deeper understanding through the writing process.Another view on writing by Burroway et al (2019) is writing as a tool for exploring and understanding life where writers can convey emotions, experiences, and thoughts through stories and characters.
Writing skills refer to the abilities, techniques and competencies that a person has to be able to effectively and skillfully convey their thoughts, ideas, information or narratives in written form (Cole & Feng, 2015;Deane et al., 2008;Kumar, 2020).These skills cover various aspects of writing, including grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, organization, clarity, coherence, and the ability to adapt writing for various purposes and audiences (Rakedzon & Baram-Tsabari, 2017;Sparks et al., 2014;Onchera & Manyasi, 2013).Strong writing skills enable individuals to express themselves clearly, convincingly, and creatively and make their written communications more impactful and understandable to readers (Hyland, 2005).These skills are invaluable in academic, professional, and personal contexts, as they are essential in creating documents, reports, essays, articles, stories, and other written materials that are coherent, interesting, and free of errors (Galvan & Galvan, 2017;Hamp-Lyons & Heasley, 2006;Harwood, 2005;Richards & Miller, 2006).Writing skills are a person's ability to communicate and convey meaningful messages to interact with readers in a context.

21st Century Skills
Innovation starts with people, making the human capital within the workforce decisive.In a fast-changing knowledge economy, 21 st -century digital skills drive organizations' competitiveness and innovation capacity.Although such skills are seen as crucial, the digital aspect integrated with 21 st -century skills is not yet sufficiently defined (van Laar et al., 2017).In general, 21 st -century skills include collaboration, communication, digital literacy, citizenship, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity and productivity (Voogt & Roblin, 2012).These skills are labelled 21 st -century skills to indicate that they are more related to the current economic and social developments than with those of the past century characterized as an industrial mode of production.Lewin and McNicol (2015) state that the growing impact of globalisation and the knowledge society have led many to argue that 21 st -century skills are essential to be successful in the workplace and that ICT is central to their development.Claro et al. (2012) consider 21 stcentury digital skills as: (1) the mastery of ICT applications to solve cognitive tasks at work; (2) skills that are not technology-driven, as they do not refer to the use of any particular software program; (3) skills that support higher-order thinking processes; and (4) skills related to cognitive processes favoring employees' continuous learning.In other hand, van Laar et al (2017) identified seven core skills: technical, information management, communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and problem solving.Five contextual skills were also identified: ethical awareness, cultural awareness, flexibility, self-direction and lifelong learning.

Research Method
This research is an exploratory descriptive study that describes students' attitudes during learning to write German.The research sample was conducted at SMA Negeri 38 Jakarta class XI-4, totaling 35 students.Data was collected through attitude assessment sheets which refer to 21st century educational competencies, namely: (1) critical thinking skills; (2) creativity skills; (3) communication skills; and (4) collaboration skills.Data analysis was carried out through categorization of assessment results using average scores.Data comes from the overall score obtained by respondents.The data obtained was analyzed using the categorization suggested by Setiawan & Suardiman (2018) as listed in Table 1.

No
Student Scores Category The assessment results of each component are then continued with an assessment of student attitudes.To understand and interpret the results of attitude assessments, researchers create descriptions to understand the components of attitudes carried out by students.This description helps teachers to reveal the achievement of social attitudes, as listed in Table 2.

Attitude assessment in German writing learning
Assessment of attitudes in learning to write German shows variations in student achievement in various aspects such as critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration.As shown in Table 3 below.The data in Table 3 shows that the majority of students achieved a good level in critical thinking, with a percentage reaching 54.29%.This shows that students are able to analyze information critically and logically when writing descriptively in German.On the other hand, only a small percentage of students achieved a very good level in critical thinking, with a percentage of 17.14% and this figure was smaller than the achievement of students in the quite good category of 22.86%.In terms of creativity, the data shows quite significant variations.Most students achieved a good level in creativity, with a percentage reaching 34.29%.This means that students are able to produce creative ideas in German descriptive writing.However, only a small percentage of students achieved a very good level in creativity, with a percentage of 25.71%, while the quite good category had the highest figure at 40%.In the communication aspect, the majority of students achieved a good level, with a percentage reaching 45.71%.This means that students are able to convey ideas and information clearly and effectively in German descriptive writing.Unfortunately, only a small percentage of students achieved a very good level in communication skills, with a percentage of 34.29% and it was also found that students still reached the fair category with a figure of 17.14%.Lastly is collaboration, where the majority of students achieved a good level, with a percentage reaching 42.86%.In other words, students are able to work together well in German descriptive writing activities, such as in group projects or discussions.However, only a small percentage of students achieved a very good level in collaboration, with a percentage of 31.43% and also not much different from the quite good category with an achievement of 25.71%.For more details, we look at Figure 1 below.

Attitude assessment model in German writing learning based on 21st century skills
The 21st century competency-based attitude assessment model emphasizes important aspects such as critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration.This assessment not only looks at the final result of the writing, but also the writing process, the ability to collaborate with others on a writing project, and the ability to convey ideas effectively.This attitude assessment model helps teachers to measure student progress in important aspects needed in the current global era, and Also this model prepares students to become critical, creative and inspiring decision makers.The attitude assessment model can be seen in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2. Attitude assessment model in writing based on 21st century skills
Figure 2 illustrates four aspects of attitude assessment in learning to write in the 21st century.First, critical thinking skills in learning to write include students identifying and analyzing problems in writing systematically, they write information critically to produce quality work.The ability to make the right decisions based on rational and logical thinking also helps students in developing strong and structured arguments in writing.Second, creativity skills to produce new and original ideas in their written work.By displaying uniqueness and originality in their writing, students are able to write creatively.Third, communication skills support students' ability to convey ideas clearly and effectively in writing.For example, they listen actively to understand their friends' perspectives and ultimate they communicate messages effectively.Fourth, collaboration skills in learning to write can build good working relationships and this helps them develop more diverse writing.

Attitude assessment in writing
Attitude assessment in learning to write is an evaluation process that aims to measure students' attitudes towards writing skills (Ertan Özen & Duran, 2021;Wright et al., 2019).This attitude assessment includes motivation, self-confidence, openness to feedback, persistence, and willingness to learn and develop their writing skills (Julian et al., 2021;Laila & Yugafiati, 2023;Sabti et al., 2019).By understanding student attitudes, teachers can identify areas that need improvement, provide appropriate support, and design activities that can increase student motivation and involvement in the writing learning process.
Referring to Care & Kim (2018) which states that 21st century skills learning is focused on developing students' abilities to think critically, generate creative ideas, communicate effectively, work together in teams, use technology wisely, solve complex problems, and managing emotions and interpersonal relationships.For example, Shellenbarger et al (2018) conducted research on student attitudes towards scientific writing.They involve selfassessment tools to evaluate competencies such as knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to writing.They said that these three aspects (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) facilitate better writing development in students.Furthermore, Ghaffar et al (2020) conducted an assessment for secondary school students' writing learning.The attitude assessment rubric developed has an impact on students' positive attitudes, increasing self-confidence and writing motivation.
Writing skills include cognitive, affective, physiological and social processes, which are complex and difficult skills to master among the four language skills (Hayes, 1996;McCutchen et al., 2007;Zabihi, 2018).In fact, writing is a versatile tool to achieve goals through learning and teaching methods (Carroll et al., 2018;Gillespie et al., 2014;Graham, 2019;Lee, 2014;Rietdijk et al., 2018).Written language is used in establishing interpersonal communication by integrating vocabulary with knowledge, transferring feelings and thoughts in written form, organizing thoughts, and becoming a learning mediator.
Given that writing is an activity that requires the use of high-level skills and supports developments such as literacy, the importance of teaching writing at all levels cannot be denied.
The process of teaching writing can include dimensions of knowledge about writing and writing problems, producing and processing text, motivation, and directing thoughts and actions through appropriate strategies to achieve writing goals (Graham, 2019).Learning to write involves knowledge and skills , attitudes, and even rules of spelling, punctuation, and grammar, emphasizing important expressions with appropriate use of words to present content as a meaningful whole (Carroll et al., 2018).
The attitude assessment carried out by researchers was related to how students think critically, creatively, communicatively and collaboratively in learning to write.The fact is that most writing activities in learning depend on students' writing habits.Regarding this, Genc & Aydin (2017) suggest that teachers should first focus on the writing skills that students need to develop and then decide on the selection of appropriate methods, techniques and tools to be used in learning.The most important thing for Bean & Melzer (2021 ) and Eodice et al (2017) is that students are actively and voluntarily involved in activities to make the learning experience meaningful and valuable in writing activities.

Attitude assessment model in writing based on 21st century skills
The attitude assessment model in 21st century competency-based writing learning aims to measure students' attitudes towards writing ability by considering skills and characteristics that are relevant to today's needs.This model emphasizes aspects such as critical thinking skills, creativity, communication and collaboration, which are important competencies in facing the challenges and demands of a complex global era.
First, think critically a way to integrate what is considered an attitude or way of thinking.This skill can be improved when students have the opportunity to write about topics that have been discussed in class, especially if the topic is relevant to their lives.McLaughlin & Moore (2012) said that critical thinking can be improved through practice and discussion .Nejmaoui (2019) places the importance of critical thinking as one of the expected outcomes in language learning, one of which is the writing aspect.Study results have shown that students can improve aspects of critical thinking in writing such as relevance, clarity, logic, and coherence through structured learning and adhering firmly to the principles of critical thinking (Dong, 2015).Other strategies to improve critical thinking and writing include encouraging in-depth analysis, teaching critical reading, reflective writing exercises, student collaboration on writing projects, and technology support (Sinaga & Feranie, 2017).
Second, creativity in the writing process has four aspects, namely fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration.Fluency is the ability to express ideas fluently and coherently in writing.Flexibility involves the ability to make connections between different concepts and generate innovative ideas.Originality includes the ability to generate unique and creative ideas, differentiating oneself from others.Elaboration is the process of expanding and developing ideas in depth until they become well formed and clearly articulated in writing (Ansari, 2015).When students are encouraged to think creatively and express themselves innovatively, they are more likely to produce writing that is interesting, original, and well structured (Wati, 2019).Creative writing also influences students' attitudes towards writing (Bartscher et al., 2001;Temizkan, 2011).Through positive experiences in expressing themselves creatively, students can develop a more positive attitude towards writing (McVey, 2008;Rosenhan & Galloway, 2019).They see learning to write as an activity that is fun, satisfying and useful, and stimulates students' interest in writing.
Third, communication skills in learning to write refer to an individual's ability to convey ideas, information and messages effectively through written forms such as emails, reports, memos, letters and essays (Seely, 2013).Communication is very important in various contexts, whether in personal, academic or professional life.Effective written communication includes the ability to structure messages clearly, accurately, and concisely so that readers can easily understand them (Baram-Tsabari & Lewenstein, 2013;Booher, 2001;Okoli, 2017).Communication is the ability to organize thoughts logically, choose the right words, and adjust the tone to the audience (Trenholm, 2020) .Good written communication skills not only influence how messages are delivered, but also reflect professionalism and confidence in communication (Moore & Morton, 2017).In fact, this is reinforced by the argument of Riley & Simons (2016) that good written communication skills include spelling, grammar, punctuation and clarity.By developing communication skills in learning to write, students can become effective communicators, have a positive impact on social interactions, and achieve communication goals better.
Finally, collaborative skills in learning to write are seen as a social activity that is enhanced through interaction (Maulidah & Aziz, 2020;Shehadeh, 2011;Wang, 2022;Wigglesworth & Storch, 2012;Zhang, 2021).Through interaction, students acquire new ideas and processes that encourage writing development (McDonough et al., 2022).Active involvement of students is essential during collaborative work, as they learn from each other.Storch ( 2019) outlines the steps for student participation in completing a collaborative writing assignment , namely generating ideas, creating a draft, providing feedback from peers, revising, and publishing the final draft.Suwantarathip & Wichadee (2014) reported that students had a positive attitude towards writing activities carried out collaboratively.Thus, collaboration helps students improve understanding and development of ideas when writing.
The model for assessing students' attitudes in critical thinking can be done through practice, discussion and structured learning.Aspects of student writing creativity include fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration so that they produce interesting written work.Good written communication conveys ideas clearly and accurately.Meanwhile, student collaboration in writing can improve understanding and development of ideas.

Conclusion
A gap was identified between the small proportion of students who had achieved excellent level in Critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration in learning to write are influenced by several factors such as spelling rules, punctuation, grammar, vocabulary, self-confidence, motivation, practice, and their knowledge.There are several critical suggestions that can be considered.First, the learning approach must be more focused on developing writing skills which are students' main needs.This is in line with the recommendations of Genc & Aydin (2017) which suggests that the selection of learning methods, techniques and tools should be based on a deep understanding of students' specific needs in learning to write.Advice from Bean & Melzer (2021) to ensure that students are actively and meaningfully involved in every stage of the writing process.By implementing an attitude assessment model that integrates 21st century skills, it is hoped that students can improve their writing skills in foreign language learning, especially.

Declaration of conflicting interest
As the researcher, we declare that we have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Table 2 .
Description of Attitude Assessment Achievements

Table 3 .
Results of Student Attitude Assessment