International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research

Vol.3, No.5, pp.42-49, August 2015

Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)
THE WRITING DIFFICULTIES FACED BY L2 LEARNERS AND HOW TO
MINIMIZE THEM

May Al-Gharabally
Public Authority for Applied Education and Training

ABSTRACT: I have chosen to look at the importance of writing skills and how to help learners
write clearly and concisely using the correct grammar and structure. Traditionally, written
English is given less emphasis than spoken. As a teacher of Arab learners at University level,
I have found that they try to think simultaneously about many facets of writing. Word order,
mixed tenses, spelling, and punctuation are just a few of the challenges L1 learners face. Add
to this the challenge of the cursive system and we begin to understand why they make so many
mistakes. My article suggests how we can develop learners writing skills from an early age.

KEYWORDS: writing difficulties, L2 learners, first language

INTRODUCTION

Writing is unfortunately very commonly used as a means of evaluation so it is not surprising

that many people feel they are being judged when someone reads what they have written.
Learning to write coherently and in a way which is appropriate for one’s purpose and audience
is something which many people never manage in their first language, despite the fact that a
substantial part of the educational process is devoted to the development of such skills. The
process is every bit as difficult in a second language. Grabe and Kaplan (1996)
While some fluent adult writers think of writing as a difficult process, L2 learners should not
initially have the same attitude and the teacher should try to ensure that writing is not seen as
a frustrating and unrewarding skill. On contrary, learners should be encouraged to feel that
writing is an important and effective means of self- expression, communication and
information gathering. Grabe and Kaplan (1996)
L2 learners are often overwhelmed when asked to complete a writing task. Even at the
beginning, some learners will have difficulty getting started. In order to make a writing task
less threatening the following suggestions are useful to help learners who are struggling to find
their way and for them to find writing interesting as well as giving them a sense of
accomplishment so that they will be better motivated for the next writing task.
TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS TO AID L2 LEARNERS WITH WRITING
1) Getting ideas by brainstorming and discussion (i.e. planning and making idea maps)
2) Writing ideas in note form
3) Using questions to plan writing
4) Writing a draft-learners can be allowed to make rough drafts before producing the final
draft
5) Improving the draft
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 International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research
Vol.3, No.5, pp.42-49, August 2015
Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)
6) Devising and correcting checklists before handing in final draft
7) Comparing/ sharing ideas with other peer groups whilst writing
8) Exchanging and reading each other’s work

In practice, many of the difficulties which learners encounter in writing are often resolved
through discussion while they are writing for example, it is my experience that learners
frequently correct and revise their own work after having had the opportunity to read and
compare with another learners work. Through working in groups or in pairs to produce a piece
of writing, learners have an opportunity to ask each other and the teacher if need be about
spelling, vocabulary , grammar and the best ways of expressing things.
I have chosen to look at the importance of writing skills for Arab L2 learners and the
achievement of appropriate writing because writing skills are often either overlooked or shied
away from due to the complexities faced by Arabic learners.
Writing is unfortunately very commonly used as a means of evaluation so it is not surprising
that many people feel they are being judged when someone reads what they have written.
Learning to write coherently and in a way which is appropriate for ones’ purpose and audience
is something which many people never manage in their first language, despite the fact that a
substantial part of the educational process is devoted to the development of such skills. The
process is every bit as difficult in a second language. Grabe and Kaplan (1996)
While some fluent adult writers think of writing as a difficult process, L2 learners should not
initially have the same attitude and the teacher should try to ensure that writing is not seen as
a frustrating and unrewarding skill. On contrary, learners should be encouraged to feel that
writing is an important and effective means of self -expression, communication and
information gathering. Grabe and Kaplan (1996)
L2 learners are often overwhelmed when asked to complete a writing task. Even at the
beginning, some learners will have difficulty getting started. In order to make a writing task
less threatening the following suggestions are useful to help learners who are struggling to find
their way and for them to find writing interesting as well as giving them a sense of
accomplishment so that they will be better motivated for the next writing task.
9) Getting ideas by brainstorming and discussion (i.e. planning and making idea maps)
This in turn allows for creative licence and enables students to express themselves in a
way they would feel restricted by with formal essay designs
10) Writing ideas in note form
11) Using questions to plan writing
12) Writing a draft-learners can be allowed to make rough drafts before producing the final
draft
13) Improving the draft
14) Devising and correcting checklists before handing in final draft
15) Comparing/ sharing ideas with other peer groups whilst writing
16) Exchanging and reading each other’s work

43

ISSN 2053-6305(Print), ISSN 2053-6313(online)

 International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research
Vol.3, No.5, pp.42-49, August 2015
Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)
In practice, many of the difficulties which learners encounter in writing are often resolved
through discussion while they are writing, for example, it is my experience that learners
frequently correct and revise their own work after having had the opportunity to read and
compare with another learner’s work. Through working in groups or in pairs to produce a piece
of writing, learners have an opportunity to ask each other and the teacher if need be about
spelling, vocabulary , grammar and the best ways of expressing things.
I have chosen to look at the importance of writing skills for Arab L2 learners and the
achievement of appropriate writing because writing skills are arguably the most difficult to
master out of the four areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing and I feel less attention
is paid to this area of English study for Arabic speakers.
In my experience teachers often assign writing tasks as homework. They choose not to devote
class time to something which they believe can be done just as effectively at home. They often
prefer to focus on oral and aural work which cannot be easily practiced at home. Also, as
learners need different amounts of time, it is easier for the teacher to set the writing as
homework rather than have learners finishing at different times. Furthermore teachers may feel
uncomfortable teaching writing. Handwriting, punctuation and writing style is personal and
said to reflect the writer’s personality. Teachers are unwilling to impose their own style on their
learners. Additionally as I previously mentioned, writing was not considered important until
recently, so many teachers have had no instruction onto how to teach it. Finally, teachers are
used to feeling needed in the classroom. Conventionally, quiet activities like reading (excluding
reading aloud) and writing have less interaction and teachers have complained that they are not
interesting and engaging to teach.
The main reasons for setting writing as homework rather than a class activity one is based on
teacher as opposed to learner needs. Moreover, solitary writing ignores the process especially
at lower levels where learners strive for guidance and proper assistance with spelling,
vocabulary and grammar and the best way of expressing things. Additionally interactive
writing tasks also give learners a unique opportunity to get feedback from their readers on how
far this message has been understood. Writing alone at home also means learners have no
access to peer-correction or to extra stimuli if they have writers block. They would have no
chance to reformulate their ideas.
“Learning to write in L1 or L2 is extremely difficult. Even educated native speakers have
difficulty, hence the abundance of books on the subject”. Humphreys (2003)
“Learning to write well is a difficult, lengthy process, one that induces anxiety and frustration
in many learners” Richards (1990)
Writing and speaking are both productive skills, but unlike speaking, learners do not get an
immediate reaction from their audience. Speaking practices in the classroom are more often
fluency practice emphasising communication, while writing tasks are typically marked as
accuracy practice, with little emphasis on communication. The abundance of red annotation
over a learner’s work only adds to their anxiety and frustration. Teachers should not attempt to
deal with all errors, but should focus on those which cause most difficulty to the reader. Errors
may be indicated by underlining, and the learner should attempt to work out their errors and
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 International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research
Vol.3, No.5, pp.42-49, August 2015
Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)
try and correct them. Learners to learners discussion in which they compare and correct errors
can be helpful.
Another technique is to take a section of a learner’s written text and rewrite it. The rewritten
version can then be distributed to the class together with the original, and comparison can be
made between the two versions. Some very fruitful discussions can emerge from such
comparisons, which will deal not simply with matters of expression but a whole host of other
matters. Particularly beneficial discussions can emerge from such comparisons which will not
deal with simply with matters of expression, but with the ideas, the ways in which different
texts have been organised and the viewpoint adopted by the writers. An alternative way of
marking student’s written work is to use symbols in the margin to indicate that there is a
mistake in that line rather than correcting the mistake for them.
THE USE OF SYMBOLS WHEN MARKING LEARNERS’ WRITTEN WORK
*well done
Wo Word order
T Tense
Pr Preposition
P Punctuation
O organisation
Sp Spelling
V Vocabulary
I contend that it is a mistake not to teach writing in the classroom. As Harmer argues, the
reasons for teaching writing to students of English as foreign language include reinforcement,
language development, learning style, and, most importantly, writing as a skill in its own right.
(Harmer 1998)
There are many reasons students learn English and be they intrinsic or extrinsic; literacy in
English is still something students should strive for.
There are many methodologies upon teaching writing: Product, Process, and the Genre
approach. Put very simply, the product approach focuses on the end result. Learners copy and
practice whilst imitating a given model. It is a controlled language practice. Process Approach
focuses on the process of writing. It involves freer brainstorming, selecting key vocabulary and
ideas. Multiple drafts are written at the content and the organisation and frequently refers to a
check list. It is only at the final stage when the language comes paramount and the teacher will
then get involved. The Genre approach is an approximate blend of the previous two approaches.
Students study a particular model, noting the text type, layout, vocabulary used, the register of
the language and the structure of the text. Students then use multiple drafts and peer correction
to write their own text in the same genre.

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ISSN 2053-6305(Print), ISSN 2053-6313(online)

 International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research
Vol.3, No.5, pp.42-49, August 2015
Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)
The product approach is the more traditional approach, having grown out of the audio lingual
approach. I believe it encourages weaker learners as the use of the model allows them to avoid
making errors providing they are adept and copying and substituting. The primary emphasis is
on providing practice in producing different kinds of texts. Techniques of controlled
composition or ‘guided writing’ are used as they do not require the learner to do any actual
composition. Techniques used in a product approach often begin with controlled writing
exercises and gradually more toward freer writing once the writer has memorised the structure
to be followed. Murray (1980)
I firmly believe the Product approach best suits L2 learners, as they need scaffolding,
particularly when their L1 has a different script, orthography and punctuation. It is also an ideal
approach for students with low learner autonomy and a strong sense of teacher authority. It
appeals more to analytic learners with a low tolerance of ambiguity. In my experience, the
product approach promotes learners self-confidence because they can see their own accurate
pieces of writing. It especially appeals to students who are more comfortable with rote learning
(i.e memorization based on repetition) It facilitates the sometimes bewildering jump from the
grammar translation method employed in Asia to the communicative method favoured in
Europe.
However proponents of the Process approach point to flaws with the product approach.
Critics of the product approach argue that there is little, if any, genuine communication in the
learning process, that the emphasis on the finished product completely ignores the composing
process and does not reflect the way the people write in their L1. Finally, they say that it is
extremely difficult for a native speaker to, let alone an L2 learner to produce a perfect model.
However I would argue that just because something is not difficult to attain, it does not follow
that we should attempt to attain it. I agree, however, that teachers should consider this more
before getting their red pen out.
The process approach firmly focuses on the writer and the stages of writing. Rather than
attempting to copy the product, this approach attempts to copy the process a good or skilled
writer uses. Skilled writers, according to (Lapp, 1984)
FEEDBACK FROM LEARNERS’
“ Spend time thinking about the task and how they will approach it…”
“Spend time reviewing what they will write..”
“Often pause for reviewing and revising during the first draft”
This highlights one of the processes main disadvantages: it is time consuming and may interfere
with other course/student objectives. Harmer, (2004)
It has been argued that this approach is also undermined by writing tests, which are under strict
time constraints and focus on the product. Nor does it address the needs of learners who will
have to write for an unknown audience, e.g. in ESP. Reid disputes this claim, saying:

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ISSN 2053-6305(Print), ISSN 2053-6313(online)

 International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research
Vol.3, No.5, pp.42-49, August 2015
Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)
“A false dichotomy between ‘process’ and product arose in the L2 literature. In reality, most
L2 students were being taught process writing strategies to achieve effective written
communication (products) with difference occurring in emphasis.
I think as a learning tool for learners with excellent learner autonomy, it is a great approach to
mastering the Process Approach in that students are not given one model to emulate, but rather
several examples to compare and contrast. Students can then see unifying fundamental
expectations within a particular context, as well as how different readers have different
expectations of a particular text, depending on the relation 2 (28nship with the writer. This
approach requires dedicated research. Tribble suggests learners spend a week looking at a
variety of examples within a specific genre to preclude the actual writing. He calls this: “Data
collection” procedure. Tribble (1998)
As with the process approach, the main disadvantage is time. Again I do not believe it is an
appropriate approach for a beginners or elementary group with little training or autonomy. In
my experience, elementary students are concerned with speed. They resent revision, wanting
to rush through the textbook and onto the next course levels, regardless of what they have
learnt. Reading and comparing. Some feedback from current Arabic students reinforces this
fact :
“I really want to learn how to improve my English and it frustrates me how long it takes to
learn to write. The spelling is confusing because of the phonetic differences and when I see
how many corrections I have it makes me feel bad.” Walid, Egypt, studying at the British
Council.
“More practice with writing would be useful as it takes so much longer to learn to write than
to read and listen. I find it useful to follow other writing tasks and like to practice following
some samples and dialogues.” Samir, currently studying Engineering at University in Egypt.
“When I am writing it amazes me how many English words end the same way , for example
that bomb, tomb, comb all end in 'omb' but don't rhyme, is just one example of many that shows
how difficult English spelling is.”
“Learning English has been one of the most difficult tasks I have ever done in my life. What
makes it so challenging is I have to be persistent, self-motivated and self-disciplined. In my
opinion persistence is the most important and vital factor for learning English because only by
practicing, perfection can be acquired. And practicing is nothing more than doing one task
regularly until I get it right. In addition to that during my English studies, I either had some
personal experiences or learned from various teachers how to learn English.” Nafis, Brighton,
attending a one year Intensive English course before a post-graduate degree.
In conclusion, we can see that there are a myriad of difficulties which Arab learners face when
learning to write English successfully. Likewise there are many methods which help to develop
writing, including taking into consideration their level. The use of an English -English
dictionary, the use of cue cards which new words can be written on, and practiced after each
lecture. Learners can be encouraged to use websites such as the BBC which offer English
interactive activities These are a great help, helping autonomous learning, and also, where
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 International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research
Vol.3, No.5, pp.42-49, August 2015
Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)
possible, a period of studying abroad in an English speaking country with the exposure to a
totally English speaking environment helps enormously. Students should be nurtured through
their learning and encouraged so they see learning English as a delight and not a chore. An
added activity that could very much help beginner L2 learners is when learning a new word:
discuss and think of its other forms. For example: Beautiful (adjective), beauty (noun),
beautifully (adverb). It should also be advised for L2 learners to use English whenever they
can. ( I always give the example of excelling in a certain sport-practice makes perfect-and that
applies to language.) The teacher, however, should also discourage translating into English
from Arabic. Always ask learners to try and think in English to improve their fluency and hence
improve their writing. Similarly a teacher should encourage talking as the most natural way to
learn grammar as this is where learners have the most difficulty. Learners can also be
encouraged to keep an English diary or journal. Begin by writing a few sentences a day and
then get into the habit of writing more. Journals also become an outlet through which learners
can express their feelings. One of the most useful things I found when teaching writing was
telling learners to write a sentence or two for every new word they acquire as that would make
it much easier to remember. Motivation and encouragement are also important factors in
teaching writing to L2 learners. Ways to increase motivation can include short writing periods,
“competitions” for the best beginning, sharing a paper, and writing with students, pointing at
good starts and good organisation, and presenting rewards for the best final papers. (Grabe and
Kaplan, 1996) A particularly effective way to encourage learners to write is to show them that
not everything needs to be graded and evaluated. Al beginning levels of writing level group
discussions prior to writing is highly encouraged as it gives the grounds and additional
knowledge for writing. Discussion groups allow learners to support one another and it will lead
to cooperative group learning. Last but certainly not least teachers should encourage reading.
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Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)
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