First-year Students’ Perceptions, Challenges and Performances of Writing: A Study on Ethiopian Defense University

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to investigate first-year students’ perceptions, challenges and performances of writing at the Ethiopian Defense University. To achieve this study, the researcher employed explanatory sequential mixed method design in which both quantitative and qualitative data were mixed. Data for the study were gathered from first-year students and English language instructors of the university. The participants were selected specifically from the university’s College of Engineering and College of Resource Management. As a result, one hundred eight first-year undergraduate students filled in two questionnaires, which were used to determine the students’ perceptions of writing and their challenges of writing. The same number of students took a paragraph writing test, which was used to determine the students’ writing performance levels. Moreover, eight students and six English language instructors were interviewed. The results showed that majority of the students had positive writing perception, and their writing performance was below average. In addition, the students were encountered linguistic, psychological and cognitive challenges, and the results of the correlation analysis showed that the students’ writing perceptions, challenges and performances were not statistically significant. On the basis of the results of the study, having poor writing background, lack of motivation, negligence in writing, unsupportiveness of the English courses and modules, traumatic effect of past experiences, lack of writing practices were some of the revealed reasons for the students’ low writing performance. Lastly, offering remedial English language trainings, revising the current English courses and the course modules, creating awareness on the adverse effect of traumatic past experiences on writing to the university community, implementing focused training programs to English instructors, preparing supportive materials for teaching writing which consider the writing challenges that the military students are in, and revisiting the lower grades English language curriculum to prepare students for higher education were recommended.