Teaching Academic Writing to Undergraduate Saudi students: Problems and Solutions – A King Saud University perspective

Abstract

This study aims at investigating the effect of academic writing on the writing performance of Saudi EFL university students. The study also reveals and points out the recurring learning problems that undermine the ability and interest of the students at the College in the way of acquiring a good writing skill and becoming successful translators. The sample of the study consisted of 68 students randomly chosen from King Saud University-College of languages and Translation-and assigned to experimental and control groups of 34 students each. Data of the study were collected within two months period via a pre-posttest design for equivalent groups. The control group was taught by the regular teacher with the direct administration of the researcher, however, the experiment group was taught by the researcher. The researcher assessed the effect of teaching academic writing on the writing performance of the Saudi EFL university students. Results showed that the experiment group outperformed the control group on the measure. This indicated that using academic writing may have a significant positive effect on learners' writing performance. Implications and suggestions for further research are reported.