Students' Writing Problems in English as a Second Language

Students' Writing Problems in English as a Second Language

At this meeting, the discussion about the problem of students writing English in Suban and how to solve the problems. Based to the journal written by Dr Ibrahim Mohamed Alfaki, there were 20 students who were involved in the study. The students were asked to write about 250-300 words with the theme “Description of my own town or village”. The student's performance will be monitored twice by 10 English instructors. It aims to find out common mistakes that students often make. So that a solution can be found according to the procedure.

Writing is an important element that can significantly develop one's language competence. Through writing skills, a person can express ideas, opinions and thoughts about a thing. The purpose of writing is not only for learning, but can also be used for entertainment, personal pleasure, or healing. Many people or students use blogger sites to share their creative ideas. In that place, they can broadcast stories based on their imagination or express their hobby of writing freely. What's more, as students, writing skills are the basic skills that they must possess. Academic writing procedures require higher skills than ordinary writing. For example, in writing an essay, a student must be careful, thorough, and disciplined with the rules of writing.

Through this research, can be able to know; the various factors that influence writing, the writing approach used by teachers to students, the background of writing problems, general problems in student writing, as well as solutions or suggestions that can be made by students to overcome these writing problems.

Factors influencing writing production

a.    Based on Cognitive science and Linguistic theory of thought processes about the writing process.

b.  Based on social construction theory, shows that a group of individuals with shared interests/conventions will influence the production of texts within that group.

Approaches to writing

-   Product approach, focuses on the final result or written work of what students produce rather than the process

-   Process approach, focuses on the writing process compared to the final results produced by students. Where the process begins with determining the idea, choosing various and appropriate words, and compiling. Then a teacher will assess their process by reviewing, revising, and editing their work.

Learners’ writing problems

-           Grammar problems

As second language learners, this becomes a common problem if they are not yet proficient in foreign grammar. Because the second language is not a colloquial language or the first language for them, understanding and adjustment are needed.

-          Sentence structure problems

Students who are not skilled in writing good sentence structure cannot produce longer sentences that require subordination and coordination.

-          Word choice problem

The choice of words reflects the reader's attention and the purpose of writing, compositions written by students will make sense to the readers. But on the other hand, writing in a second language using the right words in the right place is a major obstacle for students.

-          Cognitive problems

·         Problems with punctuation

·         Capitalization problems

·         Spelling Problems

·         Content problems

·         Problem organization

Cause of learners’ problems in writing

·   a. Lack of student motivation: motivating students with encouragement which can be done by giving permission to choose their own topic or something they want to write so that their work is more successful.

·    b. Inadequate Time: The quality of student writing can be affected by the amount of time allotted, as time can be key in producing a text with complete control over organization and coherence.

·    c. Lack of practice: writing does not come naturally but is acquired through constant effort and lots of practice   

   d. Teacher feedback: positive correction by a teacher with a focus on what they actually succeeded in doing not on mistakes will motivate students to continue learning to write.

The conclusion

Based on these findings, a number of recommendations and problem-solving have been made: It is always helpful to tell learners to revise their written work aloud. When they speak, they will make natural pauses and this will help them in using punctuation. Spelling errors can be corrected by using a dictionary or spell checker. Increase reading habits, so that they can add insight into vocabulary, and grammatical structures and get information. Learners should practice practicing to improve their writing skills. Be calm and consistently if unable to come up with ideas or continue writing.

References

Alfaki, Dr. Ibrahim Mohamed. (2015). University Students’ English Writing Problems: Diagnosis and Remedy. International Journal of English Language Teaching Vol.3, No.3, PP.40-52. Retrieved from http://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/UniversityStudents----English-Writing-Problems-Diagnosis-and-Remedy.pdf