Beliefs and Practices Concerning Academic Writing among Postgraduate Language-Teacher Trainees

Abstract

This paper reports on the initial stages of a larger study on plurilingual rhetorical communicative competences. Experiential evidence indicated a mismatch between the academic writing competences desired from and those displayed by the participants—adult bilingual (L1 Spanish, L+ English) English-language teacher trainees in a postgraduate program at Colombian university. We examined participants’ beliefs and practices concerning academic writing to identify the sources of their challenges and develop the evidential basis for identifying appropriate remedial strategies. This was a mixed methods study, in which we analyzed data from semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and student artifacts through the grounded theory approach and descriptive statistics. The results suggest that participants’ challenges with rhetorical aspects of academic writing stem from a lack of training. However, participants were relatively successful with aspects of writing in which they had been trained: discrete language skills and purely descriptive prose. We conclude their academic writing difficulties are fundamentally non-linguistic and hypothesize they would face similar academic writing challenges even if writing in their L1. There is an urgent need to address these challenges, not only because rhetorical competences are increasingly important in a knowledge-driven society but also because teachers need to be able to train their own students in such competences.

(Non)-Conformity to Native English Norms in Postgraduate Students' Writing in UK Universities: Perspectives of Native and Non-Native Students and Academic Staff

“…What is regarded as highly demanding for nonnative postgraduate students is to expect them to write like natives in academic settings. This is neither reasonable nor feasible for most students (Medina 2019;Holmes 2022;Holmes, Waterbury, Baltrinic and Davis 2018;Tribble 2019;Tuck 2018).…”

“…Some scholars render the problem of writing to the complexity of the skill (Morton, Storch and Thompson 2015;Zhu 2004). Hence, Anderson and Cuesta-Medina (2019) held that the problem of writing is due to the lack of training in rhetorical aspects of academic writing. More drastically, many researchers point that the students encountered not only problems, but also experienced deep angers in academic writing (Anderson and Cuesta-Medina 2019;Holmes 2022;Holmes Waterbury, Baltrinic and Davis 2018;Tribble 2019;Tuck 2018).…”

“…Hence, Anderson and Cuesta-Medina (2019) held that the problem of writing is due to the lack of training in rhetorical aspects of academic writing. More drastically, many researchers point that the students encountered not only problems, but also experienced deep angers in academic writing (Anderson and Cuesta-Medina 2019;Holmes 2022;Holmes Waterbury, Baltrinic and Davis 2018;Tribble 2019;Tuck 2018). Even native students experience challenges in academic writing because it is a complex task that requires, according to Ferguson (2007: 28), "prolonged formal education, socialisation into academic literacy practices and a gradual accretion of competence in specialised disciplinary discourses".…”

Central Events and Causal Connections: A Narrative Inquiry-Study among Colombian Female Scholars in their Processes as writers

“…Although writing for academic purposes has been a focus for the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) community in Colombia (Anderson & Cuesta-Medina, 2019;Barletta, 2007;Cárdenas, 2014;Correa & Echeverri, 2017;Gómez, 2011;Ramos, Quintero, & Moreno, 2013;Seloni, 2017), very little is understood in terms of the impact Western patriarchal academic writing has had on Colombian female writers and vice versa. Additionally, it is unclear how women, being a majority in many fields, are negotiating and transforming the language and publication process.…”

Postgraduate Students Academic Writing Skills: The Needs for Supervision and Self-esteem

“…Academic writing is a general term that refers to the various forms and styles of rhetorical prose that are used for research communication in a variety of academic fields (Anderson & Cuesta-Medina, 2019) and widely identified as a crucial skill for students to improve their educational performance at university level (Sajid & Siddiqui, 2015). Thus, academic writing skills must be integrated throughout the graduate studies as a whole (Bair & Mader, 2013).…”