Major Writing Difficulties Faced by Kurdish Learners of EFL in Academic Writing Classes

Abstract

Writing in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) contexts has been claimed to be one of the most challenging tasks required from EFL learners. Many Kurdish learners of EFL face difficulties producing well-developed paragraphs and essays in their courses of study in higher education. This study aims at investigating such difficulties that could hinder students’ overall progress and success. A mixed-method research design was used to explore the issue under investigation fully. The data collection tools used is a (5-point Likert Scale) questionnaire and semi-structured in-depth interviews. Two hundred English major students from four public universities of Kurdistan Region of Iraq answered the questionnaire. Also, ten EFL university instructors were interviewed. Analysis of the findings revealed that Kurdish learners of EFL faced various difficulties such as writing anxiety, mechanics of writing (grammar, punctuation, spelling), word choice, and negative language transfer in their writing courses. Discussions and implications of these findings are presented.