Major Writing Challenges Experienced by EFL Learners in Soran University

Abstract

The current research aims to investigate the challenges that EFL learners face in essay writing skills and the common errors they make in their English writing. One of the major aspects of language development and academic achievement among students at all levels of the education system is the capacity to achieve communicative competence in writing skills. Though, one of the essential problem learner faces at university is, learning to master essay writing skills. A descriptive survey research design was adopted in this study. The sample of the study are 32 randomly chosen third year students of English Department at the Soran University. To achieve the aims of the research, a mixed methodology was selected, through which data was collected through the students' questionnaire, and a collection analysis of thirty-two randomly chosen essays. A research results obtained from students' questionnaires indicated that major difficulties that student' encounter are in grammar, organizing ideas, punctuations, and vocabulary. The challenges that students face in writing essay include: incorrect use of grammar, first language interference, limited vocabulary, punctuation marks, and word order. Based on these results, it is important for teachers to take into account students' writing challenges, and the explanation of more writing sessions are among the pedagogical implications.