Challenges concerning argumentative writing in a second language context

Abstract

The current study is based on parts of the data collected in a quasi-experiment conducted in four English classes of Norwegian upper secondary school students. The purpose of the quasi-experiment was to explore whether a teaching intervention based on systemic functional linguistics and genre-pedagogy would support students in improving their competence in writing argumentative texts in English. The improvement was measured by comparing evaluations of pre-and post-tests. The current study investigates what seemed to be the main challenges for Norwegian students concerning this type of genre in a second language context based on the pre-tests and the evaluations of the pre-tests. The most challenging aspect seems to be how to write thorough argumentation and discussion and to use sources in an independent and correct manner. Other challenging features seem to be how to structure texts and how to adjust the language to appropriate levels of formality and modality. To meet these challenges, this article advocates introducing genre-pedagogy as a teaching approach in ESL-contexts (English as a second language). This would ensure a focus on how to construct arguments through detailed instruction and to adjust the writing to purpose and situation.

The European Conference on Language Learning 2021: Official Conference Proceedings

“…The students' chosen focus areas mirror some of the challenges Norwegian students have when writing English documented in previous research (Horverak, 2016(Horverak, , 2018. They struggle with writing proper paragraphs or structuring texts, and to write in a formal language.…”

“…Even though there may be different exercises to choose from, teachers and censors have an underlying expectation that the students write a text that complies with the requirements of a five-paragraph essay (Horverak, 2016), and this type of formal writing may be challenging for students. Some of the features Norwegian students struggle with when writing English texts are to get the structure right, to ensure that the argumentation is thorough, to use sources in a sensible way and to adjust the language to purpose and situation (Horverak, 2018).…”

Non-English Major Undergraduate Students’ Difficulties in Argumentative Writing at Mae Fah Luang University Thailand

“…The result of this study corresponds with the previous research. Some studies have reported that students encountered difficulties in the organization in general (e.g., Dang et al, 2020;Horverak, 2018;Ka-kan-dee & Kaur, 2014;Saprina et al, 2021;Saputra et al, 2021;Toan et al, 2020). Moreover, students experienced failure in creating a claim, thesis statement, or their position towards the issue (e.g., Beniche, 2021;Ghanbari & Salari, 2022;Ozfidan & Mitchell, 2020;Peloghitis, 2016;Saprina et al, 2021;Toan et al, 2020;Wingate, 2012).…”

“…They observed 12 Indonesian English major student teachers by implementing in-depth interviews and all of them admitted they had insufficient vocabulary. In her study, Horverak (2018) observed 83 Norwegian university students' argumentative essays and found out that the students encountered difficulties in academic vocabulary and adjusting the language to the appropriate level of formality. These studies have confirmed that vocabulary was difficult for the students.…”

“…In Vietnam, university students face problems with rhetorical features, linguistic competence, organization, thesis statements, inability to provide solid evidence, lack of critical thinking, and concluding sentences (Dang et al, 2020;Toan, Dan, Da, Thi, & Chau, 2020). In Europe, position-taking was difficult for the majority of linguistics students at a UK university (Wingate, 2012), and using sources, organization, language formality, academic tone, and writing thorough argumentation were difficult for Norwegian students (Horverak, 2018). Similar challenges were experienced by many university students in Iran and Saudi Arabia, as reported respectively by Ghanbari and Salari (2022) and Ozfidan and Mitchell (2020).…”