900-student Turkish L1 writing study: pointing a way forward

For Turkish L1 university students English academic writing is challenging. We EFL teachers thought, with enough practice, feedback, and revision, our students would eventually acquire the fundamentals required of written... [ view full abstract ]

For Turkish L1 university students English academic writing is challenging. We EFL teachers thought, with enough practice, feedback, and revision, our students would eventually acquire the fundamentals required of written academic discourse. While it is true the state of academic English among Turkish students at English-medium universities is imperfect and Turkish students struggle with English productive skills, pursuing an English-medium education is not futile and remains a desired option for many Turkish L1 students.

This practical paper is the outcome of a large (959-student) and long-term (6-year) longitudinal study of Turkish L1 students’ academic writing in English and is germane for anyone concerned about teaching academic writing. Using objective and consistent measures, both computer-aided and teacher-performed, a substantial longitudinal database was created from these English-learners’ very first paragraph in their preparatory/foundation year to their 1,000-word Freshman English academic research papers. The study collected over 50 discrete categories for each text, including more than 30 grammar, structure, and usage points, as well as six organizational dimensions.

Contained within the results of this study is a surprisingly consistent handful of grammatical, lexis, and stylistic errors making up more than 80% of all inaccuracies made in Turkish L1 English academic papers. This result points to the need for Turkish L1-specific changes in curriculum using these common errors as a starting point to develop a comprehensive strategy to teach-out these errors, additional assessments to confirm understanding, and modification of teaching approaches to avoid these academic writing faults from becoming permanently imbedded in these students.

This paper is the outcome of a large/long-term longitudinal study of Turkish L1 university students. Using objective/consistent measures on more than 900 student’s writing, the results point to the need for Turkish... [ view full abstract ]

This paper is the outcome of a large/long-term longitudinal study of Turkish L1 university students. Using objective/consistent measures on more than 900 student’s writing, the results point to the need for Turkish L1-specific changes in curriculum using a handful of common errors as a starting point to build better writers.