EFL Writing Hindrances and Challenges: The case of Second Year Students of English at Djillali Liabes

Our students spend from five to seven years learning English upon entering the university system. However, these students struggle with learning fluent English, as well as lack the ability to express themselves through strong and critical writing skills. For instance, the pre- university “Baccalaureate” examination, which includes elements of English as a measurement tool, has often had one of the poorest scores among all subjects; it is the subject where a great number of students fail regardless of their field of study. The present study was conducted with eighty EFL university students taught by the teacher researcher at Djillali Liabes University in the Department of Foreign Languages section of English. Students enter university lacking essential writing prerequisites. They had generally written very little in the form of compositions, essays or papers in English. As subject, English was primarily meant for examinations, whose priority was on grammar and reading comprehension exercises. The “Baccalaureate” candidates had to answer a paper that consisted of three sections: reading comprehension, manipulation of language and written expression. Data analysis revealed that EFL students encountered many writing challenges, particularly those related to language proficiency. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n3p14