US University Learner Attitudes towards Foreign Language Writing

Abstract

Language acquisition research strongly suggests that writing is essential to modern language instruction. Current best practice dictates that some form of target language writing be part of almost every type of foreign language (FL) course. However, FL instructors often receive complaints from students concerning the writing required in different FL courses. Many instructors appear to believe that their students have negative attitudes towards FL writing, and that negative attitudes may hurt student motivation. This paper reports on a survey of 759 FL students enrolled at a midsized university in the western United States. These students were asked to describe their FL writing assignments, their personal FL writing, and their attitudes towards the importance of writing to their language acquisition. Results indicate overall very positive attitudes towards FL writing among these students, as well as plans reported by the majority of students to continue to write in their FL after college.