Tunisian EFL Students’ Perceptions toward Their Writing Difficulties

Salwa Enneifer

doi:10.4236/ojml.2021.114051

Abstract

The research is intended to investigate Tunisian students’ own perception of the difficulties they encounter in the writing task. To achieve this objective, a questionnaire was administered to students enrolled in the “Faculty of Letters Arts and Humanities” in Kairouan, in Tunisia. Students were classified into three groups: first-, second- and third-year students. The researcher used 120 questionnaires filled in by the students as data for this study; moreover, 30 students participated in a semi-structured interview to complete the data. The questionnaire results revealed that Tunisian EFL students faced spelling and grammar difficulties. ANOVA also revealed that the first-year students did not recognise that Arabic and English greatly differ in their respective punctuation systems. The second-year class, however, were fully aware of this difference. Additionally, the interview shed light on other aspects or different difficulties experienced by students in writing: a cruel “lack of vocabulary”, Arabic language interference, the organisation of the essay and especially the academic essay and difficulty with writing an argumentative essay.

Highlights

Prior research highlighted the perception of English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners toward their writing difficulties in different contexts
ANOVA revealed that the first-year students did not recognise that Arabic and English greatly differ in their respective punctuation systems
Instruments The purpose of this study is to explore the perception of the writing difficulties experienced by Tunisian EFL students, in their English essay writing

Summary

Introduction

Prior research highlighted the perception of English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners toward their writing difficulties in different contexts. Previous empirical studies (Al Mubarak, 2017; Bani Younes & Salamh Albalawi, 2015; Derakhshan & Shirejini, 2020; Jabali, 2018; Mwangi, 2017) have investigated EFL students’ own perceptions and attitudes toward problematic areas in writing. Jabali (2018) examined 102 EFL students at An-Najah National University in Palestine He explored their attitudes toward writing in general and the writing differences faced during writing both in English and Arabic. He found that students’ level of anxiety and apprehension toward writing decreased as their level of language proficiency increased. He concluded that students had positive attitudes toward strategies used in the writing classes, the writing process in general and textbooks and instructional approaches

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion