The Process and Problems of EFL Learners in English Writing
A Case Study in International Class
Abstract
The objectives of the study were to investigate the process of English writing from students of undergraduate international class, to describe problems faced by students in writing English, and to find out the factors which inhibit and improve their writing skills. There were six female respondents in international class. The study used documentation from the students’ work, open-ended questionnaire and interview as the instruments for data gathering. All the data were analyzed by using descriptive qualitative approach. The results of this study showed that all students used four stages in the process of English writing: planning, drafting, editing and final revision. The students’ English writing problems covered content, organization, vocabulary, language use and mechanic. The factors which inhibit them in writing English included not being confident in writing English, not mastering grammar and vocabulary, and lack of practice in writing. The aspects which encourage them to write English were due to the demands as international class students, watching English movie, reading English books or journals, listening English songs and having ambition to acquire scholarship overseas.
Downloads
Metrics
References
Ahmed, A. H. (2010). Students’ problems with cohesion and coherence in EFL essay writing in Egypt: Different perspectives. Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal (LICEJ), 1(4), 211-221.
Alfaki, I. M. (2015). University students’ English writing problems: Diagnosis and remedy. International Journal of English Language Teaching, 3(3), 40-52.
Alodwan, T. A. A., & Ibnian, S. S. K. (2014). The effect of using the process approach to writing on developing university students’ essay writing skills in EFL. Review of Arts and Humanities, 3(2), 139-155.
Aunurrahman, A. (2019). Exploring Writing Anxiety of the EFL University Students in Pontianak Indonesia. IJELTAL (Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching andApplied Linguistics), 4(1), 109-119.
Azizah, U. A., & Budiman, A. (2018). Challenges in writing academic papers for international publication among Indonesian graduates students. JEELS (Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studies), 4(2), 175-198.
Barrett, N. E., & Chen, L. M. (2011). English article errors in Taiwanese college students’ EFL writing. In International Journal of Computational Linguistics & Chinese Language Processing, 16(3-4), September/December 2011.
Cho, H., & Brutt-Griffler, J. (2015). Integrated reading and writing: A case of Korean English language learners. Reading in a Foreign Language, 27(2), 242.
Coker, D. L., & Ritchey, K. D. (2015). Teaching beginning writers. Guilford Publications.
Di Loreto, S., & McDonough, K. (2013). The relationship between instructo feedback and ESL student anxiety. TESL Canada Journal, 20-20.
Fareed, M., Ashraf, A., & Bilal, M. (2016). ESL learners’ writing skills: Problems, factors and suggestions. Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 4(2), 81-92.
Fatimah, F., & Masduqi, H. (2017). Research Trends in EFL Writing in Indonesia: Where Art Thou. Journal of Teaching and Education, 7(1), 89-98.
Hampton, R. S. (1989). Community involvement in alphabet and material development. Notes on Literacy, 60, 11-14.
Harmer, J. (2014). How to Teach Writing. New York: Pearson Education Limited.
Hyland, K. (2019). Second language writing. Cambridge University Press.
Husin, M. S., & Nurbayani, E. (2017). The Ability of Indonesian EFL Learners in Writing Academic Papers. Dinamika Ilmu, 17(2), 237-250.
Ibnian, S. S. K. (2017). Writing difficulties encountered by Jordanian EFL learners. Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Studies, 5(3).
Jacobs, H. L. (1981). Testing ESL Composition: A Practical Approach. English Composition Program. Newbury House Publishers, Inc., Rowley, MA 01969.
Miri, M. A., & Joia, J. (2018). Writing anxiety in an Afghan EFL setting: Voices from five Afghan students. Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Learning, 3(1), 14-29.
Mudawy, A. M. A., & Mousa, A. A. E. (2015). Academic writing among Saudi University students: problems and solutions. International Journal of Science and Research, 6(5), 1-4.
Nair, S. M., & Hui, L. L. (2018). An Analysis of Common Errors in ESL Descriptive Writing among Chinese Private School Students in Malaysia. International Journal of Education and Practice, 6(1), 28-42.
Nation, I. S. (2008). Teaching ESL/EFL reading and writing. Routledge.
Pablo, J. C. I., & Lasaten, R. C. S. (2018). Writing difficulties and quality of academic essays of senior high school students. Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 6(4), 46-57.
Rahmatunisa, W. (2015). Problems faced by Indonesian EFL learners in writing argumentative essay. English Review: Journal of English Education, 3(1), 41- 49.
Raas, R. A. (2015). Challenges Face Arab Students in Writing Well-Developed Paragraphs in English. English Language Teaching, 8(10), 49-59.
Ratnawati, S. R., Yuliasri, I., & Hartono, R. (2018). Enhancing the Students’ Speaking Skill Using Three Step Interview and Numbered Heads Together. Language Circle: Journal of Language and Literature, 12(2), 173-181.
Samanhudi, U., & Linse, C. (2019). Critical Thinking-Related Challenges to Academic Writing: A Case of Indonesian Postgraduate Students at a UK University. Lingua Cultura, 13(2), 107-114.
Shapo, H. S., Walter, M. R., & Fajans, E. (1995). Writing and Analysis in the Law (pp. 72-3). Foundation Press.
Spratt, M., Pulverness, A., & Williams, M. (2005). The TKT course. Cambridge University Press.
Terenin, A. (2013). Clear writing as a problem of Russian learners of English. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 16(11), 1512-1519.
Toba, R., Noor, W. N., & Sanu, L. O. (2019). The Current Issues of Indonesian EFL Students' Writing Skills: Ability, Problem, and Reason in Writing Comparison and Contrast Essay. Dinamika Ilmu, 19(1), 57-73.
Trinh, Q. L., & Truc, N. T. (2014). Enhancing Vietnamese learners' ability in writing argumentative essays. Journal of Asia TEFL, 11(2).
Xin, Z. (2007). Reflective Thinking on Communicative Teaching in Writing. Online Submission, 4(5), 19-25.
Copyright (c) 2020 Muamaroh Muamaroh, Vira Cahya Mukti, Dwi Haryanti

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
By submitting the manuscript of the article, the authors agree with this policy with no specific document sign-off required.
The authors certify that:
- if the manuscript is co-authored, they are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
- the work described has not been formally published before in a registered ISSN or ISBN media, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis.
- it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
- its publication has been approved by all the author(s) and by the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – of the institutes where the work has been carried out.
- they secure the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere (it does not infringe the rights of others).
- they agree to Ethical Lingua license and copyright agreement.
All articles published by Ethical Lingua are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
License and Copyright Agreement
- Authors retain copyright and other proprietary rights related to the article.
- Authors retain the right and are permitted to use the substance of the article in own future works, including lectures and books.
- Authors grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in Ethical Lingua.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in Ethical Lingua.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post or self-archive their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.