Saudi high school students’ perceptions towards EFL writing and what are the factors affect their motivations to writing?

Abstract

In Saudi Arabia, English is the only foreign language taught as part of the curriculum required by the government and learning it can be of benefit to a young Saudi, in terms of their academic advancement and future career. Yet, writing in English as a foreign language, for native Arabic speakers can be a challenge; given the differences in script and language structure. This small qualitative study aims to explore in some depth, the experiences of six female students aged 17-18 in two Saudi high schools in terms of learning to write EFL. The students were chosen to represent a spread of abilities and came from one private and one government Saudi high school, and semi- structured interviews were conducted online. The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed, translated in English and a thematic analysis was conducted using an inductive approach. The students spoke about their experiences and attitudes towards writing in EFL and commented on the teaching methods used, the difficulties they encountered and the strategies they found useful as well as their motivations to wanting to be able to write in English. The students were generally very positive about their EFL writing lessons and valued the feedback that their teachers gave them. As expected, grammar and spelling were perceived to be challenges, and the students clearly preferred being able to write about topics they chose and were familiar with. Their motivations were a mixture of instrumental (they saw writing in EFL as useful for university and career advancement) and integrative (communication with English speakers). Of particular interest was the wish to learn EFL writing to be able to text in English and use social media. The study concludes by outlining recommendations for future research based on the findings of this study.