Academic Writing

In the current research, when clarification probes were used to explain previously identified issues like English AW, relative data started to emerge. Students gave various accounts of their concerns regarding AW. Some presented themselves as confident that they possessed adequate AW skills, while others were quite open to discussing the difficulties they faced. After being asked to comment on the AW issue (if present), one student revealed:

―I think that language skills are important for successful [independent] learning. I personally find it very difficult to write academic essays because I make so

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many mistakes. … when it is marked by my supervisor. It‘s not only the case but I sometime[s] can‘t make sense of what I write.‖

Academic writing skills are necessary for students to clarify their views to the readers; thus, they are well aware of its real impact in HE learning. In the reflection above, this student seems to portray two aspects of the writing skills challenge. The first is the lack of grammatical skills; the second is the inability to structure sentences to present clear meaning in writing. When asked to clarify his/her views, the student commented:

―Writing … is very difficult for students like me … [I] never learnt the way to write … in school … [I] used to write essays and applications but in college and university life, … no opportunities to write. …I never knew that I was given less marks in prior learning for lack of English … as an Asian student … [it is] difficult … to write sensibly … connect sentences ….‖

These comments highlight further the core AW issue. The student‘s realisation that he/she did not know about the possibility of marks for writing skills in their home countries contrasts with what is normally practiced in the UK. Hence, an issue from prior academic practices presents itself where little, if any, attention might have been given to AW; this inattention to detail is unlike the Western learning environment where greater emphasis is put on writing skills because institutions largely value well written documents and research papers. In the comment above, the students‘ inability to connect sentences or make meaningful sense of written text may fall in the category of translation – a period of student life where he/she is transferring ideas in the form of translation. This transference may also be called low-level writing and speaking ability. The last sentence of the above comment, “others … make sense of sentences,” also support the point made earlier. However analysis of comments, like “I never knew that I was given less … learning for lack of English language skills (ELS) …,” reveals that the students‘ lack of English writing skills originates from the socio-cultural terrain of prior academic training.

It is surprising to note that my sample students share similar cultural bonds and linguistic strains (see Section: 4.3.10). No evidence has been seen in terms of excellence in AW skills among participants, despite some students‘ claims of having better writing skills. For example, different students commented:

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―Me and my colleagues were not aware … it is so difficult to study in [the] UK because English language is important in UK … [we were] cheated by agency people that studying in [the] UK is very easy … it‘s simply not true … writing is very important in [the] UK to pass assignments and exams …. Support at the start of learning will help a lot ….‖ (Chinese)

―Well, I know that tutor in UK pay high attention to academic writings but at the same time, there is no formal training of doing so … unless students are given proper training ... [it‘s] hard to satisfy tutors in UK….‖ (Indian)

―We come from a culture where English is used as a SL. We know how to write and how to speak in our country… here things are different…. lecturers in universities are interested in type of writing … what students write … they check every word and line … and grammatical accuracy determine[s] the final marking criteria … support is needed at the very beginning or else … difficulties will make hard to get rid of them …‖ (Pakistani)

All the remarks reveal the need for support, however this requirement may be different in different discipline areas (see Section: 4.3.5), and were highly applicable to me as a researcher in my area of prior study. Originating from a strong socio-cultural background, the examination system was never intended to assess AW skills in my prior learning. In my home country, where selective assessment or choice-based exam papers might have resulted into inappropriate study patterns, these criteria were never known to me either. In such learning cultures, it is less likely that students will develop AW and IL skills. While inherent language skills may be hard to polish, they are not impossible to improve. Similarly developing AW skills allow students to end the period of translation into independent thinking. In due course, training, tutoring and strict guidance might also help erase the decade-long, ingrained habits of dependent learning in which no emphasis is given to developing AW skills.

While the literature shows that Chinese students are the weakest in English language skills, it may simply represent the widespread use of their native language rather than English. Yet the results in the current study are different from those in various studies (as shown in Appendix: 1). Whilst students from the selected countries were asked to clarify their perspectives on the lack of AW skills, they more or less shared the same wide range of problems. Despite my realisation following discussions with many Indian students that they are more fluent in English-speaking than students from other selected

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countries, surprisingly they also face the same overall challenges as the Chinese and Pakistani – thus the apparent level of better fluency from my own view may be misleading me as researcher (as I have no proper means to judge this on my own); indeed, writing skills are essentially considered for academic success.

Similarly, there are ‗support‘ factors reflected in students‘ earlier comments that appropriate and timely support helps to enhance language skills. Support strategies are necessary because students with immediate HE entry are likely to be unaware of expectations such as asking questions and participating in classroom discussions – a contributory factor to developing IL skills. I experienced such interactions myself in classrooms and other academic discussions when teachers more often intervened to correct and provide us instructions about the use of correct spoken language – particularly in our academic English classes. As such, it appears unlikely that sample students would differ in their perceptions and strategies about AW in English. As a result, students‘ perceptions about writing in academic English reveal that they are influenced by prior learning strategies where they are equipped with specific training, i.e. taught at levels of transmittance in a spoon-feeding context, contrary to IL. The reason for this common experience also rests with the notion that Asian students not only share a history of dependency but also the issue of AW skills; as a result, these students face similar challenges. From students‘ overall perceptions it appears that they want AW to be taught in order to overcome the associate issue of learning independently.