Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Writing Difficulties of EFL Learners
Writing Difficulties of EFL Learners
Candidate: Supervisor:
Siham Ben Aissa Pr. Fewzi Borsali
2017-2018
I
Abstract
Research on the writing skill tackles different topics. Writing difficulties are
among the problems encountered by EFL learners in Algeria. The present dissertation
aims to identify the writing difficulties that affect the writing level of EFL learners in an
this design work to collect data. Seventy-six learners participated in the research through
answering fifteen questions. Eleven questions about the writing skill were answered by
the learners and four questions, were answered by the teacher. According to the results of
the case study, the learners have difficulties in using spelling, nouns, the correct tenses,
pronouns, vocabulary, with adverbs, and with sentence structure. Therefore, the learners
need a lot of practice in order to remedy their writing difficulties, since writing is one of
Key words: The writing skill, difficulties, EFL Learners, challenging, complex tasks.
II
الملخص
التي يواجهها متتلمو اللغة الكتابة هي من بين المشووووا مختلفة .صووووتوبا البحث في مهارة الكتابة يتناول موضووووو ا
اإلنجليزية لغة أجنبية في الجزائر .تهدف الرسوالة الحالية إلى التترف لى صووتوبا الكتابة التي تؤثر لى مسوتو الكتابة
لمتتلمي اللغة اإلنجليزية لغة أجنبية في مدرسووة ثانوية جزائرية ،الشووي محمد بده ،في منطقة ان غار -تمنراسوو .تتتبر
المنهجيا الوصوفية والتحليلية والتطبيقية مناسوبة في هذا التصومي لجمع البيانا .شارك ستة وسبتون متتلما في هذا البحث
من خالل اإلجابة لى خمسووة شوور سووؤاا .ت اإلجابة لى أحد شوور سووؤااا حول مهارة الكتابة من قب المتتلمين وأربتة
أسوللة ،وت الرد ليها من قب المتل .ووفقاا لنتائج دراسووة الحالة ،يواجه المتتلمون صووتوبا في اسووتخدا التهجلة واألسووما
وااحوال وبنية الجملة .لذلك ،يحتاج المتتلمون إلى الكثير من التدريب من أج واألزمنة الصووحيحة والضووومائر والمفردا
تابته ،حيث أن الكتابة هي واحدة من أ ثر المها صتوبة وتتقيدا بالنسبة لمتتلمي اللغة. متالجة صتوبا
الكلمات المفتاحية :مهارة الكتابة ،الصعوبات ،متعلمي اللغة اإلنجليزية كلغة أجنبية ،EFLمهام صعبة ،معقدة.
III
Résumé
d'écriture sont parmi les problèmes rencontrés par les apprenants EFL en Algérie. La présente
thèse vise à identifier les difficultés d'écriture qui affectent le niveau d'écriture des apprenants
EFL dans un lycée algérien, El Cheikh Mohammed Abdou, qui se trouve dans la région d'In
dans ce travail de conception pour collecter des données. Soixante-seize apprenants ont
d'écriture ont été répondues par les apprenants et quatre questions ont été répondues par
l'enseignant. Selon les résultats de l'étude de cas, les apprenants ont des difficultés à utiliser
l'orthographe, les noms, les temps corrects, les pronoms, le vocabulaire, les adverbes et la
structure des phrases. Par conséquent, les apprenants ont besoin de beaucoup de pratique pour
remédier à leurs difficultés d'écriture, car l'écriture est l'une des tâches les plus difficiles et les
Table of Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Abstract…..................................................................................................................................I
…الملخص.....................................................................................................................................II
Résumé …................................................................................................................................III
List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………..…...VII
List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………..…VIII
General Introduction…………………………………………………………………………1
1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………….....3
7. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………12
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...13
V
2.4. Punctuation…………………………………………………………………........16
2.5. Handwriting………………………………………………………………...........17
6.Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..................23
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………....24
3. Pupils’ Questionnaires………………………………………………….…...........25
4. Teachers’ Questionnaires………………………………………………………....36
5. Recommendations ………………………………………………………………..37
VI
6. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..........38
General Conclusion................................................................................................................39
References…………………………………………………………………………………....41
List of Tables
Table 1: Participant’s Gender….......................................................................................25
List of Figures
Figure 1: The Process of Writing…………………………………………………………....6
1.1. Introduction
The writing skill is one of the four foundational language-learning skills that also
include listening, speaking and reading. It is taught in colleges and high schools where learners
find it as the most challenging skill when they attempt to express ideas and opinions in a piece
of writing. This chapter defines the writing skill in general, its purpose, approaches, types, as
allows the learners to organize their ideas and opinions about a certain subject. G. Yule (2010)
thinks that writing is the symbolic representation of language through the use of graphic signs.
Writing needs more practice of activities for learners unlike speech that is acquired. The learner
has to learn how to write in order to be a good writer. Byrne (1991) also states that the symbols
have to be arranged or combined to form words, and words to form sentences, and sentences to
form paragraphs and essays. However, Fischer (2001,p.12) thinks that“no definition of writing
can cover all the writing systems that exist and have ever existed”.
Writing is the most difficult skill for learners, Byrne (1991) argues that writing is a
difficult task for learners because it requires conscious mental effort and takes time to learn it.
He classifies the difficulties into three types. The first is a psychological problem where the
writer faces the problem of lack of interaction and feedback between the writer and the reader.
The second is a linguistic problem because writers have to express their ideas in a grammatical
sense. The third is a cognitive problems in that writing has to be taught over formal instructions
where the writer masters the organization of his or her ideas in written communication.
Chapter One: The Writing Skill 4
The Kansas State Department of Education states that there are eleven common types
of writing purpose. First, learners write in order to express ideas or opinions, this type of writing
purpose is personal for learners themselves or for their friends, and it is informal like in journal
writing. Second, learners write to describe people, things or places to provide readers with a
mental image about what they write. Third, writing aims to learn or explore, in which learners
ask questions, think about a topic, and reflect on topics which defy simple answers. Fourth,
writing to entertain takes the form of brief joke or a television script. It aims to make the
Fifth, students write in order to inform and convey information accurately and
objectively, such as laboratory reports or economic reports. Sixth, writing to explain depends
on definition, process analysis, cause/effect analysis, and synthesis. In this type, learners require
to know: who, what, how, why, and wherefore in order to analyze their subject. Seventh, writing
an argument paragraph or essay in order to convince the readers believe or act in a certain way.
Eighth, writing to convince readers about opinions, and knowledge about a subject, logical
thinking, and strong argument. Ninth, writing to evaluate a person, thing, or product needs
Tenth, students write to solve problems, in this type of purpose they use arguments in
order to find a solution to a particular problem. It has two main components, which are a
description of a serious problem and an argument for specific recommendations that will solve
the problem. Eleventh, in writing to mediate, called traditional arguments, writers defeat the
arguments of the opposition party since it becomes a kind of war. The writer of a mediated
argument needs a middle position, which helps arrange the differences of the opposing
positions.
Chapter One: The Writing Skill 5
Various approaches have been provided by several scholars in order to teach the writing
skill in EFL classrooms. They comprise the product, the process, and the genre approaches.
This approach focuses on the result or final production of the learners during the writing
process. R.V. White (1988) explains different phases in three steps. The first step is to study
the model, where learners analyze the rules of language (i.e. grammar rules, and the structure
of sentence). The second step is to manipulate the elements in which learners study the model
text in components, such as rules and vocabulary. The third step is to produce a parallel text
The final product involves different aspects, according to Hedge (1988) it involves the
following seven aspects: correct grammar, a range of vocabulary, meaningful punctuation, the
correct use of conventions, accuracy spelling, linking ideas and information in order to develop
Despite the advantages of the product based approach on the learners, J. Robbins (2014)
argues that repetition is the most important disadvantage that affects the work of the product
approach since students feel that they are doing the same thing again and again, till it becomes
boring. It affects their creativity because this makes them believe that there is only one method
While the product approach focuses on the final product of the learner’s draft, the
process approach focuses on stages through which EFL learners create their production,
Chapter One: The Writing Skill 6
because writing is a combination of process and product. Brown (2001) states that writing is a
The process approach has different stages; Nemouchi (2014) defines four common
stages in this teaching approach as a sequence of exercises and activities that the EFL learners
have to follow in order to process their production. First, the pre-writing stage where the
learners gather information that helps them discover the topic and brainstorm their ideas and
knowledge .Second, it is the drafting stage, during which the learners develop their main ideas
that help them to create an introduction to a topic through different drafts. Third, it is the
revising stage, where learners discover their mistakes and errors in their draft paper. The
revision involves the organization or the modification of ideas in an appropriate way. Finally,
it is the editing stage, in which the EFL learners correct their mistakes and errors related to
It is not an easy task for the learners to go through the process as each stage is based on
the previous one, and they will face difficulty in writing since there is an interrelationship
between the steps. According to Avellino (2012), the Process Approach takes too much time
because coming to the final draft is not as easy as following a model in the Product Approach.
The following figure created by Hedge shows the different steps of the Process
Genre is a type of a written text, such as an essay or a novel, which serves a specific aim
in society. Byram (2004) states that the genre approach is a framework for language instruction.
In the genre-based approach writing requires a social context where texts such as reports and
letters of apology are created in order to achieve a specific purpose. The genre approach is
considered as an extension of the final product especially in its aims on the formal features and
This approach has different stages, Evans (1997) specifies three steps in it. The first step
introduces and analyzes a model of a specific genre in order to work on. During the second step
learners carry out exercises that manipulate connected language forms. The third step is the
production of text. Thus, the genre approach considers writing as the analysis and imitation of
texts provided by the teacher, which is also what the product approach seeks to achieve.
The genre approach is not always suitable for EFL learners, because it gives them no
chance to discover the right or the hidden message behind the text. Badger and White (2000)
argue that since the genre approach emphasizes on the content of text, it limits the learner’s
creativity.
The type of writing depends on the age, interests, and level of the students according to
Harmer (1998). He also states that the tasks for elementary students depend on their abilities
and their languages in order to complete the task, since any student has an ability to write a
simple story but he or she has no ability to create a complex narrative. Writing has various
forms due to its aim and meaning. This makes learners use different types of techniques to fit
Chapter One: The Writing Skill 8
their purposes for writing. These techniques are useful for them to produce a perfect written
The syllabus of first year Algerian middle schools includes four different forms of
writing. First, in descriptive writing learners describe an object, life style or a person to help the
audience visualize people, objects and places. In this type of writing the learners select a subject;
use descriptive words, for example sensory or descriptive words; organize ideas with
chronological words, such as first or then; and in the end they write a logical conclusion.
Second, in a comparison and contrast type, learners indicate the similarities and differences
about a topic. They use a comparison to show what is alike or in common while they use contrast
to show what is not alike or not in common. For example, they make a comparison between life
and lifestyle. Third, narrative writing is the easiest type of writing for the learners, because it
conveys what precisely happened, and it talks about a real life situation. This type of writing
involves a clear definition of the setting, characters, plot and point of view, including an
which learners produce a piece of writing to convince their teacher that their opinions are
correct, by using logical reasons or arguments. In this type of writing the learners, start with a
There is an integration between writing and other skill, according to Harmer (2007)
while the ability to use a language in a communicative way is not only a single unified skill,
much recent thinking has divided language ability into four separate skill areas: listening,
reading, speaking, and writing. Listening and reading are known as the receptive skills, whereas
speaking and writing are known as the productive skills. When learning a foreign language,
receptive skills usually come first then followed by practical application of productive ones.
The students need these four skills because if a learning process lacks one of them, the outcome
Chapter One: The Writing Skill 9
will not be complete. Thus, productive skills will not exist without the support of receptive
ones. Furthermore, Moffett (1976) thinks that learners need to practice all the roles and the
relations of the communication structure since there is an integration relationship between the
skills. He also states that people learn the writing skill through the speaking one, they learn the
reading skill through the listening one, and they learn the speaking skill through the reading
one.
There is an relation between the writing skill and the listening one, Irene Lurks Clark
(1981) states that an effective writer expresses thought and transforms it in different ways
according to the needs of the reader. She thinks that the concept of the audience, a method that
has not yet received a great deal of attention, has an effective impact on the writing skill,
because when the learners listen to their own writing and to that of their classmates, they can
add or delete as well as they can develop their writing skill. In addition, Clark thinks that
listening to written works effectively during the revision stage, where learners gain positive
comments about their drafts, helps learners to correct their mistakes for example “good you
used the tenses correctly or negative one, for example “What do you mean by that sentence?”.
Writing and reading represent two different language skills; The first is productive or
encoding whereas the second is receptive or decoding. They are so complementary skills that
one serves the other. In addition, they are the major language skills in both the mother tongue
and the foreign language classroom. According to Sandra Stotsky (1983), the good reading
comprehension and vocabulary scores are connected with the good quality of writing.
Chapter One: The Writing Skill 10
There are different similarities between the writing skill and the reading one, Kern
(2000) thinks that there are seven similarities between the two literacy skills; reading and
writing. The first similarity is in interpretation in which writers interpret the world and readers
then interpret the writer’s interpretation by using their own ideas. The second likeness is in
collaboration, where writers write for an audience though they write for themselves, and readers
then add their experience and knowledge so as to make the writer’s text meaningful. The third
similarity is in convention since cultural conventions govern writing and reading. This cultural
convention develops and modifies due to individual purposes. The fourth similarity is in cultural
knowledge since writing and reading work within specific systems of attitudes, customs,
beliefs, ideals and values. The fifth similarity is in problem- solving since both writing and
reading require figuring out relationships between words, larger units of meaning and between
texts and real or unreal worlds. The sixth similarity is in reflection and self-reflection, in which
writers and readers think about language and its contact to the world and themselves. The
seventh likeness is in language use since both of writing and reading need knowledge about the
There is an interrelation between writing and reading. Menzo and Menzo (1995, p.113)
define the interrelation between writing and reading as the idea of “Two- way relationship
between reading and writing”. They think that this method is the easy one of teaching language
learning because reading to write is based on the idea that reading helps and shapes foreign or
second learners' writing through the acquisition of language input when learners are doing
texts through reading. In addition, writing to reading supports learners to engage with texts that
The writing skill differs from the speaking one. Grabe and Kaplan (qtd. In Weigle 15)
state that the educational researchers think that the written form of language is ‘more correct’,
therefore it has more value than oral language. Whereas linguists think that speech is primary
then written language, it is just a reflection of spoken language. Furthermore, Harmer (2004)
states different aspects of divergence between writing and speaking. They are summarized in
The first is situation; unlike speakers, writers do not share the same situation with their
readers and they use only grammatical and stylistic techniques, for example, using italics
question marks or exclamation marks since they have no ability to use paralinguistic features
such as gestures or intonation to convince their readers. In addition, speakers can add or correct
their information when it is necessary, as the communication and the feedback are
instantaneous; however, writers require a plan and a careful choice in order to achieve an
effective communication.
The second is grammatical choices. Since writing consists of fully developed sentences,
and its topic deals with the use of conjunctions and cohesive ties, speech is concerned with
words and phrases rather than complete sentences, like in the two following questions that are
written by Harmer (2004) in speech: Biscuit? While in writing: Would you like a biscuit? The
third is lexical density; it is the proportion of content words to grammatical or function words
used.
Furthermore, Halliday (1989) thinks that “Relative to each other, written language is
dense, spoken language is sparse”. However, the written text has more content words than
grammatical words, in speech the proportion of content words is smaller. In addition, in speech
the ideas are conveyed in many words since there is much repetition. Unlike in speech, in
Chapter One: The Writing Skill 12
writing there are some grammatical features, which are less commonly used, for example, the
1.7. Conclusion
Since writing is the tool of effective communication, it is not acquired in a natural setting
such as at home or in the streets. Learners have to go through many practices in order to improve
their writing abilities since they write to others. Any weakness in writing makes difficulties for
the learners and, writing should go hand in hand with the other skills instead of teaching it in
isolation.
Chapter Two: Common Difficulties of EFL Learners 13
2.1 Introduction
The EFL learners face difficulties in writing more than other learners since the English
language is not their mother tongue, so they have to make more efforts in order to write an
appropriate piece of writing. The present chapter focuses on four common writing difficulties
the EFL learners encounter, including type, and the possible reasons of causing them. The
chapter also presents some strategies for improving the writing skill.
Writing difficulties refer to the areas where the students have difficulties in one or more
elements of the writing skill, for example the use of tenses, the use of nouns, and spelling
mistakes. In other words, it refers to the problems that affect the productivity of the students
when they produce or create a free piece of writing. Raimes (1983) thinks that writing is a
difficult task, because it consists of many aspects of language, for example punctuation,
2.2.1 Spelling
Spelling is the act of forming words correctly from letters. When the students have no
ability to form the words, they produce a weak piece of writing. Also the mixing of the spelling
in English languages affects the writing accuracy of the students, since they sometimes confuse
which word spelling to use whether American English spelling or British one.
There are different reasons for spelling mistakes. According to Smith (1973), Bahloul
(2007), Al-Hassan (2011) and Jayousi ( 2011), the first main reason of spelling mistakes is
irregularities of the English pronunciation since English spelling needs more efforts of
memorizing rules. For example, the vowel /e/ is pronounced as /i/ in the word he and she.
Chapter Two: Common Difficulties of EFL Learners 14
Similarly, /o/ is spelled as/a/ in the word come or /oo/ in the word move. In addition, spelling
is difficult for learners because of the absence of complete correspondence between the sound
of a word and the way it is spelt, in other words the absence of correlation between phonemes
and graphemes makes spelling more difficult for learners. For instance the word”meet “has
only one possible pronunciation /m i: t/; but this form is also written in another way
Remedies,2016,p23).
Various steps have been developed in order to remedy the spelling difficulties of
learners. Stewart and Singh (1986) used a five strategies procedure in which learners mimicked
the teacher through pronouncing words and its letters five times before writing it. Graham and
Freeman (1986) think that if learners trace and check the spelling of words five times, they will
remedy their spelling disabilities. Moreover, Kearney and Drabman (1993) think that the use
of negative reinforcement has a great impact in improving spelling mistakes, therefore teachers
have to ask their learners to practice missed words into five times in the first day, ten times in
the second day, and fifteen times in the following day in order to improve their spelling
mistakes. Bernard Smith and Michael Swan (2001) think that the mother tongue is the main
reason that leads to spelling mistakes in writing, but the learners can avoid these writing
problems by using the synonyms of words instead of the difficult words.(Cited in : Janice A.
Correct spelling has a great importance for a good piece of writing, however Harmer
(2007) thinks that incorrect spelling does not affect the understanding of a written text, it affects
negatively the judgment of the reader, and bad spelling refers to the lack of education or care.
2.2.2 Grammar
Grammar means the rules that structure the language, and writing a meaningful sentence
or paragraph requires understanding grammar rules. For example, this sentence has
grammatical sense “She writes the lesson”, unlike these sentences “Her writes the lessons”, or”
Writes the lesson she”. The two last sentences break the grammatical rules: the first sentence
breaks the rule that a pronoun must be in the subjective case when it is the subject of a verb,
and the second one breaks the rule that the conventional order of the English sentence is : subject
verb- object.
Moreover, Harmer (2001) thinks that grammar is the rules that organize language, and
grammatical rules are not the pronouncements of teachers, editors, or other authorities. It only
describes the way of people speak and write, and the rules change when people start to speak
2.2.3 Vocabulary
the main important language skills that the learner needs to have, because it is the main key of
(2011) thinks that “vocabulary teaching and learning represents one of the major challenges
that face EFL / ESL teachers and learners. Most ESL/EFL learners have difficulties in
communicating with the English language because of their limited vocabulary.” A little
vocabulary prevents the EFL learners to express their ideas, since it affects their English
language negatively.
Chapter Two: Common Difficulties of EFL Learners 16
2.2.4 Punctuation
Punctuation is the marks used in writing that divide sentences and phrases such as
comma (,), period (.) and colon(:) according to the Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary (eighth
edition). The use of different punctuation marks seems to be the difficult task for the learners
The punctuation system has two principal roles. The first gives meaning to longer
sentences in order to read them coherently through classifying successive units, for example,
sentences are separated by full stops. The second identifies language function, such as a
These functions are divided into three main steps according to Halliday (1989); the first
step consists of making boundaries in order to classify units of grammar from each other, for
example words and sentences. Concerning the writing system, a full stop is used to indicate
stronger boundaries such as sentences, while colons semi-colons and commas are used to
The second function is status marking, it indicates the speech functions of sentences, for
example, a statement or a question. The full stop signs a statement, the question mark signs a
question. The third indicates the relation units of a sentence. This includes the hyphen that
marks a compound word like this word “full-time job”, the apostrophe shows the possessive
relation between words as in this sentence “learner’s writing level” or signs an informal variant
by the deletion of letters, for example in this sentence “I didn’t come”, the dash indicates the
opposite relation between two elements; parentheses add minor elements to the sentence.
Punctuation has a great impact in the development of the writing level of the learners.
Murray and Hughes (2008) show that punctuation marks facilitate the understanding and
Chapter Two: Common Difficulties of EFL Learners 17
reading process, because a good capitalized and punctuated piece of writing makes the work of
the learners easy to read and understand, and it produces a good impression on the readers.
2.2.5 Handwriting
occurs by using a computer keyboard at the present day, handwriting is still important for
personal letters, written assignment and mainly for exams. Hence, teachers have to deal with
the importance of a good handwriting, as well as motivate their learners to improve their
handwriting through copying activities since bad handwriting affects the reader or exam
corrector negatively.
The majority of the EFL learners have difficulty in the writing skill due to many reasons.
The following paragraph explains some possible reasons of the difficulties that affect the
writing of the learners. It includes lack of reading, lack of motivation, inadequate time, the lack
of practice, and the influence of the first language on target language writing.
Many writers agree that better readers are better writers and better writers face problems
in language exposure more than poorer readers. Raimes (1994,p. 42) emphasizes the importance
of reading into a foreign language “the more our students read, the more they become familiar
with the vocabulary, idiom, sentence patterns, organizational flow, and cultural assumptions of
native speakers of the language”. Kroll (1997, p. 48) thinks, “It is reading that gives the writer
the feel for the look and texture of reader based prose”. The lack of reading is among the sources
that cause displeasure in the writing of EFL learners. Consequently, the EFL teachers make a
Chapter Two: Common Difficulties of EFL Learners 18
strong effort with the reading skill in order to develop the competence of their learners to write
Motivation is the reason underlying behavior according to Harmer (2007). It has two
main types, which are intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation comes
from within the individual’s enjoyment, interest, or pleasure. Extrinsic comes from the external
In addition, Harmer (2006) states three different factors that affect learners from writing
correctly. First, fear of failure, that is, fear of not being able to achieve their goals especially in
contexts where they are asked to reflect their knowledge about the language and their abilities
in putting this knowledge in different frameworks. Second, the fear of committing mistakes is
another factor that prohibits learners from writing. EFL learners feel uncomfortable over the
structure of the piece of writing that they follow. Third, some learners are uncertain to show
their productions, shadow their disabilities and convince themselves not to carry on writing as
they fail to create any piece of writing. Therefore, EFL teachers use motivated topics to make
their learners feel at ease to voice their thoughts in order to reduce this phenomenon.
Motivation has different sources. Harmer (2006) also explains four sources of
motivation. The first source is the society where the learners live, it affects the learning attitude
of the students, because it is the first place where people discover knowledge, so learners can
bring ideas to class in order to understand the lessons. The second source indicates the help of
other people. The closer people to the students such as their parent or their neighborhoods affect
the language learning of the students, the third source is teachers. They are the main factor in
the continuance of the motivation of the students, since they play many roles in the classroom,
for example, they are the controllers of the class atmosphere, who decide everything, and they
Chapter Two: Common Difficulties of EFL Learners 19
are the motivators since they select motivated topics in order to engage the learners to the
lessons. The fourth source is the method, it describes a way of confidence of both the teachers
and the learners. If both of them lose confidence, their motivation will affect negatively, but if
both are comfortable with their method, both will success in their work.
Time is an essential element in the writing process and an element that differentiates
writing from speaking according to Raimes. Hedge (1988) also states that the idea of time
requires to be given attention since writing activities by nature have many steps that need so
much time. Learners need time for gathering information, organizing their information, writing
Since the practice has a great impact on the writing level of the learners, Hedge (1988,p.
11) states that “my own experience tells me that in order to become a good writer, a student
needs to write a lot”. Similarly, Grabe and Kaplan (1996) think that writing does not come
naturally but actually acquired through frequent effort and enough practice. Furthermore,
students have to take the responsibility for their learning whether meaningful learning is to take
place or not.
In addition to the lack of practice among the EFL learners, another obstacle affects their
writing. According to Frieddlander (1997, p.109) “writers will transfer writing abilities and
strategies, whether good or deficient, from their first language to their second or third
language”. So the students think about the mother tongue language instead of thinking of the
Chapter Two: Common Difficulties of EFL Learners 20
target language when they write sentences or paragraphs (in this dissertation the target language
is English language).
However, Blanchard and Root (2004, p. 204) state that” writing remains a difficult skill
to acquire and each language has its own writing conventions that the writer needs to learn them
without interfering with other language or languages”. They think there is no interference
between languages, each language has its own conventions, and therefore learners have to learn
these conventions, such as grammar and punctuation in order to produce a good piece of
writing. Moreover, Kroll (1990) states that the EFL learners do not need to be perfect in the
Writing is the most complex language skill, because it requires both mental and physical
efforts, lengthy stages, enough time, and more practice in order to produce an accurate and
effective piece of writing. According to Byrne (1988) there are three kinds of problems of
writing. First, a psychological problem that comes from the lack of interaction and feedback
between the reader and the writer. Second, a cognitive problem that comes from the
a linguistic problem that comes from writing needs to express the ideas in clearer and more
grammatical manner than in speech, so as to stop the absence of some features of spoken
Nine components are stated by Raimes (1983), that are syntax, content, the writing
process, audience, purpose, word choice, organization, mechanics, and grammar; the
combination of all these components make writing a difficult skill for the learners since they
have to handle them at the same time. The following figure shows the element that the students
have to deal with, in order to produce a clear, fluent, and effective communication of ideas.
Chapter Two: Common Difficulties of EFL Learners 21
While writing is not an easy task,Weigle (2002) thinks that teaching the writing skill to
EFL learners needs more efforts and techniques, since students often find difficulties in their
writing.
In order to improve the writing level of the learners Hedge (2005) argues that successful
writing provides the work of the learners in the appropriate way since it is not only the creation
of clear and accurate sentences. In this respect there are five strategies that students have to
follow in order to improve their writing skill. The first strategy consists in choosing the
appropriate type of topics. He thinks that the teachers have to help their students of choosing
the type of writing and the topic that motivates them including the suitable words and
Chapter Two: Common Difficulties of EFL Learners 22
expressions, because when they write about their interested topics, they feel free to express their
ideas.
The second one involves generating ideas, in this strategy the teachers explain to their
learners how to gather their information without worrying about repetition, spelling or grammar
in order to encourage them to produce more piece of writing and help them to improve their
fluency in generating ideas. The third strategy requires writing more than one draft, in which
the teachers explain to their students the importance of the draft in producing a piece of writing,
and how they can improve their writing level by writing more than one draft.
This method helps them to insert ideas that they did not think about in the first draft.
The fourth strategy is note- taking. Cohen et al (2013) (cited in : Belhabib, I. 2015).) also think
that teachers have to inform their students about the importance of taking notes in class since
they help them in answering the quiz questions. In addition, in this strategy the teachers have
to ask their students during the lessons in order to engage them in the lessons. For example,
they ask questions like: what did you understand about the lesson today? In the same respect,
Raimes (1983) states that in real life, when people need to listen and write, it is impossible to
write down any word they hear. For example in the classroom or in daily communication they
The final strategy encourages shy students. Harmer (2007) thinks that the teacher is the
first one who encourages his or her shy students to overcome their fears, and to build their self-
confidence by producing paragraphs about what they think, since they have poor self-images
and negative expectations. They also can engage them to work in groups in order to teach them
how to think deeply, and since they provide them with no answers, students have to search
2.6 Conclusion
This chapter focuses on the most common problems of writing among learners, and it
defines the writing difficulties in general. The chapter explaines the possible reasons for these
problems, and discusses some strategies to improve the writing skill, since writing is the most
difficult skill, and learners have to do more practice in order to remedy their difficulties.
Chapter Three: The Case Study 24
3.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the practical part of the research. It sheds light on the research
design, research instruments, the sample, the questionnaire for both students and the teacher
and its analysis. In order to make the study clear, this chapter gives the interpretation of the
results by using tables and figures. It also presents the findings alongside with discussions of
The descriptive, analytical and applied researches design are used to make the study
better understood. Dulock (1993, p. 154) thinks that descriptive research is used “to describe
systematically and accurately the facts and characteristics of a given population or area of
interest”. Moreover, descriptive research is concerned with data collection, testing hypotheses,
For this work, a questionnaire is the tool to collect data. It contains 15 questions. The
questions focus on the difficulties of writing for EFL learners in the first year secondary
school of In Ghar -Tamanrasset. The learners are enrolled in literary and scientific streams.
In this study, questionnaires are distributed to the 76 pupils enrolled in the first year in
the secondary school. They are composed of both males and females. The majority of the
participants are females 40, while males amount to 36, as illustrated in the following table:
Chapter Three: The Case Study 25
Females 40 52,63%
Males 36 47,37%
Total 76 100%
14%
49%
37%
15 – 16 17 – 18 19 – 20
Figure 3 indicates that the age of the participants varies from 15 to 20 years old. 49% of
the students are aged 15 to 16 years, 37 % of the students are from 17 to 18 years, and only
The pupils’ questionnaire is composed of 11 questions, among which there are yes or
no questions, selecting the appropriate answers about the frequency of writing sentences or
paragraphs in class and at home. In some questions the students give the titles of their topics
Chapter Three: The Case Study 26
either in class or at home and choosing the appropriate answer in some questions. The answers
Yes 46 60,53 %
No 30 39,47 %
Total 76 100 %
Table 3 indicates that 46 pupils answer that they write in class, whereas 30 pupils do
not.
9%
25% 40%
0%
26%
Figure 4 indicates that 40% pupils do not write in class during the week, and 26% pupils
rarely do, whereas 0% pupils sometimes do not, 25% pupils often do, and only 9% pupils always
do. If we compare the percentage of the pupils, who write in class with those who do not, we
will find that 60% of pupils write in class, and only 40% of the whole populations do not write
in class.
Yes 55 72%
No 21 28%
Total 76 100%
Table 3 indicates that 55 learners write paragraphs in class, whereas 21 learners do not.
If we compare the percentage of the learners, who write paragraph in class with those who do
Chapter Three: The Case Study 28
not, we will find that 72 % of the learners write in class, and only 28% of the whole population
do not.
No 50 66%
Yes 26 34%
Total 76 100%
Table 4 shows that 50 learners do not write at home, whereas only 26 learners do. If we
compare the percentage of the learners, who write at home with those who do not, we will find
that only 34% of the learners write at home, and 66% of the whole populations do not.
60
50
40
30
50
20
10
9 8 6
0 3
Always Often Sometimes Rarely Never
Figure 5 shows that only 3 learners always write at home, and 9 learners often do, and
8 students sometimes do, and 6 learners rarely do, whereas 50 learners do not. If we compare
the percentage of the learners who write at home with those who do not, we will find that only
34, 21% of the students learners write at home, and 65,79% of the whole population do not.
2. Describing accidents
dictionary
Yes 58 76,32%
No 18 23,68%
Total 76 100%
Table 5 indicates that 58 learners answer that the kind of exercises learners do at home
11%
17%
72%
Figure 6 shows that 72% learners have difficulty to write sentence or paragraphs during
exams, and 17% learners have difficulty to write sentences or paragraphs in class, and 11%
Question 10. What kind of difficulties do you find, when you write sentences or
paragraphs?
Yes 46 60,53%
No 30 39,47%
Total 76 100%
Table 6 indicates that 46 learners from the respondents find difficulties in using spelling,
for example they write “to day “ instead of writing “today”, “sory” instead of writing “sorry”,
Chapter Three: The Case Study 31
“informe” instead of writing “inform”, the word “bat” instead of the word “but”, “May” instead
of writing “My”, and they write “har” instead of writing “her”, while 30 learners face no
Yes 43 56,58%
No 33 43,42%
Total 76 100%
Table 7 indicates that 43 of the learners find difficulties with the use of nouns. For
istance, as they use “frend” and “frand” instead of using “friend”; they use “Decembre” intead
of writing “December” ; they use “Subtember” instead of using “September”; and they use
who find difficulties with nouns with those who do not, we will find that 56, 58% of the students
60
50
40
30
49
20
27
10
0
Yes No
Yes No
Figure 7 shows that 49 learners face problems with tenses, for example most of the
students use “it helped” instead of using “it helps”, they use “I am can’t” instead of using “I
Chapter Three: The Case Study 32
can’t”, they use” She working” instead of using “She is working” ,and they use “I write” instead
Yes 56 73,68%
No 20 26,32%
Total 76 100%
Table 8 indicates that the highest number of the participants, 56, face difficulties with
adverbs, for example instead of using “I’m very happy “they use “I’m more happy”, and they
use “It has also” instead of using “It also has”, whereas 20 learners do not.
Yes 50 65,79%
No 26 34,21%
Total 76 100%
Table 9 indicates that 50 learners find difficulties with the use of pronouns, for example
most of them use the pronoun “It” instead of using the pronoun “She”, and they use the
pronoun” him” instead of using the pronoun ”her”, while 26 learners do not.
Chapter Three: The Case Study 33
Yes 54 71,05%
No 22 28,95%
Total 76 100%
Table 10 shows that 54 learners face vocabulary difficulties. Those learners fail to make
a relation between the question and the content of the paragraph, they write irrelevant sentences.
For example, in order to answer a question about the role of Facebook in the development of
communication, learners answer with no meaning and they have no knowledge to express their
opinion, such as in this sentence “ Facebook peg seel maidia pogram ,advantages”, and others
25%
75%
Yes No
From Figure 8 we can see that 75% of learners have difficulties in using a proper
sentence structure. For example, they write “I write you to inform you” instead of writing “I’m
writing to inform you” “I don’t you acceptance” instead of writing” “I don’t accept” “I like use
Chapter Three: The Case Study 34
to Face book” instead of writing “I like to use Face book “,and “But to Face book advantages
and disadvantages” instead of writing “Face book has many advantages and disadvantages”,
60
50
40
Numbers
30
50
20
10 16
10
0
Dictionary Book Internet
Kind of Document
Figure 9 shows that 50 student use the Internet in order to do their writing activities, and
The analysis of the students’ questionnaire reveals that only 46 learners write in class.
However, the second question, which deals with the frequency of writing paragraphs in class,
shows that only 3 learners always write in class this means that the learners have no motivation
to write since motivation has a great impact in the process of language learning. The third
question indicates that the teacher uses interesting topics but the learners do not participate in
class. The fourth question indicates that the learners have to write a paragraph instead of
ordering sentences, this means that they have learnt how to write a paragraph. Moreover, the
fifth question indicates that 50 learners do not write at home while only 26 learners do, this
means that since learners do not participate at home they have problems in their writing skill.
Chapter Three: The Case Study 35
The ninth question shows that the majority of the participants, 72%, have difficulty to write
sentences or paragraphs during the exams, whereas, the rest of the participants,17%, state that
they have difficulty in class, and only 11% learners have difficulty at home.
This means that the majority of learners do not understand the lessons. The tenth
question, which deals with the writing difficulties, shows that the students have a lot of
difficulties, 46 learners have difficulties in spelling since they do not listen to their teacher
during the courses in order to check the correct spelling of words, 43 learners have difficulties
with nouns, 49 learners have difficulties with tenses, 56 learners have difficulties with adverbs,
and 50 learners have difficulties with pronouns. This means that they do not know the correct
grammar rules in order to create correct sentences, 54 learners have problems in vocabulary
since they do not read books in order to reach their thinking process, and 57 learners have
difficulties with sentence structures. This result means that the majority of the participants who
do not listen to their teacher are facing difficulties, since they not consolidate their writing
difficulties in class and at home. Therefore, the teacher should search for the reasons that affect
When pupils were asked to read this paragraph page 21from their book :”My name's
Kirsi is a name which is quite common in Finland. I’ m sixteen years old. Nearly everyone my
age goes to school in Finland. Children can finish school when they are 16, but no one really
wants to do so, because without any serious training, they can’t get a good job. I want to become
a journalist later. So I will have to study for six more years.” All of them did not spell the words
Finally, when the learners were asked about the kind of tool they used during writing,
the greatest proportion of the participants said they used the internet, only 16 out of them used
books, and 10 learners out of the participants used a dictionary. This means that even if the
learners use these documents to write paragraphs, they have writing difficulties.
Chapter Three: The Case Study 36
learners’ writing level. The teacher was asked about the most difficult skill for the learners, and
which may help to remedy the writing difficulties of the learners. The participant is one female
The teacher answered that pupils faced difficulty in writing and speaking skills.
The teacher answered that all of the students had a poor writing level.
Question 3.What type of difficulties do the pupils have in the writing activity?
The teacher’s answer shows that the majority of the participants have difficulties in
spelling, using correct tenses, using pronouns, vocabulary, and in sentence structure, while they
have no difficulties in using singular and plural nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.
Question 4. In your opinion as a teacher, is the time allocated to the program enough to
The teacher believes that time is not enough, since she is required to finish all the
lessons, which are difficult for students, and the learners require more than the time allocated.
Therefore, students need much time to practice in class in order to remedy their difficulties.
Chapter Three: The Case Study 37
The analysis of the teacher’s questionnaire reveals that the learners have difficulties with
the writing skill since it is the complex one. The second question indicates that learners need to
read a lot and practice more in order to improve their writing level. For the third question that
deals with the writing difficulties of the learners, the teacher answered that they had difficulties
in the use of tenses, for example instead of using the verb “is” they use “are”, they have
difficulties with pronouns, for example they do not use the pronouns correctly instead of using
“He” the use “It”, they have difficulties in vocabulary most of them they have no ability to
express their information, and they have difficulties with the sentence structure. The teacher
said that sometimes she does not understand what they mean since they have bad handwriting.
While the teacher agrees that the time allocated is not enough to remedy the difficulties
of the learners, this means that the writing skill needs much time to learn rather than other skills
since writing activities by nature have many steps that need so much time.
3.4. Recommendations
The following recommendations are formulated according to the results of the present
study. Considering that the learners of the first year secondary school have difficulties in the
writing skill; teachers should opt for the following strategies so as to help the learners to remedy
their writing problems: first, teachers have to encourage their learners to practice writing
activities as much as possible even at home, and in their free time. Second, teachers have to
evaluate the writing level of the learners at the beginning of the school year, they should repeat
this evaluation to assess the degree level of their learners. Third, the bad remarks of the learners
especially in the English courses need immediate solutions from the teacher in order to help
their learners. Forth, Since the time allocated is not enough to remedy the difficulties of the
Chapter Three: The Case Study 38
learners, the Algerian educational system should take into consideration this factor and allow
more time to EFL teachers since they are obliged to finish in limited time the entire syllabus.
3.5 Conclusion
The answers from the student’s questionnaire showed the difficulties that affect the
writing skill of the EFL learner's. In addition, the teacher’s questionnaire represented that lack
of time had a great impact in the productivity of the students in the writing skill while the
General Conclusion
The dissertation has investigated the difficulties of the writing skill of EFL learners of
the first year secondary school of Al Shikh Mohammed Abdou in the city of In Ghar. Chapter
One dealt with the writing skill, its definition, its purpose and its types. It also explained in
details the EFL Approaches of teaching the writing skill, by providing its definition and its
stages. Moreover, Chapter One showed the relation between writing and the other common
skills of language learning. Chapter Two was dedicated to define the writing difficulties, to
show the types of common difficulties of the students, to explain the possible reasons of writing
difficulties, to explain what makes writing a difficult skill for the EFL learners. Finally, it gave
some effective strategies to the learners that could help them improve their writing disabilities.
Chapter Three was devoted to the practical part of the study, it contained two
questionnaires one for students, and the other for the teacher. Moreover, it provided the analysis
of the questionnaires and the results of the study. From the results of the teacher and students’
questionnaires, the participants agreed that reading and a lot of practice in class or at home help
learners to produce an appropriate piece of writing, since the writing skill is known as the
complex one. Furthermore, most of the answers given by both the teacher and the learners
represented that students have problems in writing though they learned writing skill in the
The results of this work may help in guiding the learners to be more productive in
writing skills, since it provides effective steps in the product, process, and genre approaches for
Finally, learners need to practice more in class and at home in order to improve their
writing level since the writing skill has a great important in the Algerian educational system
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Appendices 46
Appendices
Appendix 1
Pupils’ Questionnaire
This questionnaire aims to gather information about the difficulties in the writing skill for EFL
Age: ……
Class: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Yes No
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………
Kind Yes No
Writing paragraphs
Appendices 47
Yes No
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………
Kind Yes No
Writing paragraphs
10. What kind of difficulties do you find, when you write sentences or paragraphs?
Spelling
Nouns(singular-plural)
Tenses
Adjectives
Appendices 48
Adverbs
Pronouns
Vocabulary
Sentence structure
Appendix 2
Teachers’ Questionnaire
This questionnaire aims to gather information about the difficulties in the writing skill for EFL
Experience:
Type Yes No
Spelling
Noun(singular-plural)
Tenses
Adjectives
Adverbs
Pronouns
Vocabulary
Sentence structure
Appendices 50
4. In your opinion, as a teacher, is the time allocated to the program enough to remedy the
Yes No
Please explain:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………