Writing pedagogies at university and their impact on first year efl students’ proficiency and writing ability

Abstract

The majority of first-year students enrolled in the Department of English at Tlemcen University display serious deficiencies in FL2 writing, more particularly at the level of discourse and content organization. Aiming to help alleviate this problem, this research endeavours to identify these learners’ writing competence, seeking to point out the reasons behind their difficulties through an exploration of some possible pedagogical deficiencies, making use of three research instruments: teacher observation, learners’ task production, and questionnaires addressed to the same learners. On the basis of the obtained results, the study proceeds to recommend more relevant instructional practices at first-year university level, aiming to help enhance learners’ proficiency level and consequently their writing ability.