English is used as a second language (L2) in Malaysia with a great emphasis on tertiary education as the medium of instruction, the most important subject in the curriculum, and a mandatory subject for all undergraduates. Yet, the university lecturers share a common view that students find it difficult to perform satisfactorily, particularly in writing assessment in English language courses. To identify the challenges of ESL writing, particularly among the undergraduates in Malaysia, one of the Malaysian universities with the highest population was chosen. A performance analysis was conducted in two consecutive semesters on the results of one of the English courses, which writing becomes the core assessment. Besides, a review of the past studies was done. Nine L2 writing challenges were identified, which can be represented by a chain reaction diagram called “SIL”: system (S), instructor (I), and learner (L). SIL proposes a sequence of inductive remedial actions, which should be taken by considering the elements within the S to the I, and finally to the L.
To conclude, poor writing skill of Malaysian undergraduates in language and content perspectives as identified in the performance analysis is supported by several past studies prescribed in the SIL domains.
Citation (APA 6th ed.):
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To conclude, poor writing skill of Malaysian undergraduates in language and content perspectives as identified in the performance analysis is supported by several past studies prescribed in the SIL domains.
Citation (APA 6th ed.):
Mah, B. Y., Irfan Naufal Umar, & Thomas Chow, V. F. (2013, April). L2 writing challenges for the undergraduates: A performance analysis and a literature review on SIL domains. Paper presented at The Asian Conference on Language Learning 2013, Osaka, Japan. Retrieved from http://iafor.org/Proceedings/ACLL/ACLL2013_Proceedings.pdf
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