An Investigation of the Most Common Difficulties Iranian Pre-university EFL Learners Face in Their Paragraph Writings

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of English Language Teaching, Faculty of humanities, Islamic Azad University, Gonbad-e-Kavous, Iran

2 Department of English Language Teaching, Faculty of humanities, Islamic Azad university, Gonbad-e-Kavous, Iran

Abstract

Due to the fact that writing is a cognitively demanding task and as a step toward removing some of the obstacles English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners encounter when performing writing tasks, this study attempted to investigate Iranian pre-university EFL learners' perceptions toward the most typical writing difficulties. For this to be done, 20 intermediate students from two different secondary high schools in Gonbad Kavoos, Iran were selected. Based on the steps of error analysis recommended by Corder (1967), a meticulous content analysis was conducted on the paragraphs written in their final exams and it was revealed that the most common writing problems these students face were related to their ‘grammatical knowledge’, ‘lexical knowledge’, ‘semantical knowledge’, and ‘mechanical knowledge’. All of these types of errors were fully explained and exemplified in the article. Furthermore, a semi-structured interview with students was conducted and the result of the interviews also confirmed the results of the content analysis of their paragraphs. Ten English language teachers' opinions were gathered and listed through semi-structured interviews and coding analysis in order to find solutions to their problems. There are some practical ramifications for educators, students, content creators, and curriculum designers in this regard at the article's conclusion.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Article Title [Persian]

بررسی رایج ترین مشکلاتی که زبان آموزان زبان انگلیسی پیش دانشگاهی ایرانی در پاراگراف نویسی خود با آن مواجه هستند

Authors [Persian]

  • حامد ضرابی 1
  • نیما یمرلی 2
  • نادیا قرنی 2

1

2 گروه آموزش زبان انگلیسی، دانشکده علوم انسانی، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، گنبدکاووس، ایران

Abstract [Persian]

با توجه به اینکه نوشتن از نظر شناختی کار سختی است و به عنوان گامی در جهت رفع برخی از موانع پیش روی زبان آموزان انگلیسی به عنوان زبان خارجی (EFL) در هنگام انجام تکالیف نوشتاری با آن مواجه می شود، این پژوهش سعی بر آن داشت تا درک زبان آموزان پیش دانشگاهی زبان انگلیسی را نسبت به آن مورد بررسی قرار دهد. معمولی ترین مشکلات نوشتن برای انجام این کار، 20 دانش آموز مقطع متوسطه از دو دبیرستان مختلف در گنبدکاووس انتخاب شدند. بر اساس مراحل تجزیه و تحلیل خطا که کوردر (1967) توصیه می کند، یک تحلیل محتوای دقیق بر روی پاراگراف های نوشته شده در امتحانات پایان ترم انجام شد و مشخص شد که رایج ترین مشکلات نوشتاری این دانش آموزان مربوط به دانش دستوری آنها است. «دانش واژگانی»، «دانش معنایی» و «دانش مکانیکی». همه این نوع خطاها به طور کامل در مقاله توضیح داده شده و نمونه‌هایی از آنها ارائه شده است. همچنین مصاحبه نیمه ساختاریافته با دانشجویان انجام شد و نتیجه مصاحبه نیز نتایج تحلیل محتوای پاراگراف های آنها را تایید کرد. نظرات 10 معلم زبان انگلیسی از طریق مصاحبه های نیمه ساختاریافته و تحلیل کدگذاری گردآوری و فهرست شد تا راه حلی برای مشکلات آنها بیابند. در پایان مقاله پیامدهای عملی برای مربیان، دانش آموزان، تولیدکنندگان محتوا و طراحان برنامه درسی در این زمینه وجود دارد.

Keywords [Persian]

  • طبقه بندی خطاها کُردر
  • انگلیسی به عنوان زبان خارجی (EFL)
  • زبان آموزان ایرانی زبان انگلیسی
  • مشکلات نوشتاری
  • مهارت نوشتاری
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Volume 3, Issue 1 - Serial Number 1
ISBN 9783899664812
January 2023
Pages 59-84
  • Receive Date: 30 March 2022
  • Revise Date: 06 August 2022
  • Accept Date: 09 October 2022