Pakistani graduate student's perspective on the effectiveness of ESL writing courses at an American university

Haider, Iftikhar

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/34554 Copy

Description

Title

Pakistani graduate student's perspective on the effectiveness of ESL writing courses at an American university

Author(s)

Haider, Iftikhar

Issue Date

2012-09-18T21:25:21Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Sadler, Randall W.

Department of Study

Linguistics

Discipline

Linguistics

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.A.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Graduate
• English as a Second Language (ESL)
• Writing courses
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

Abstract

This study explored the learning experiences of 23 Pakistani graduate students and how they perceived the effectiveness of ESL writing courses they have taken. The primary data source was an online survey; follow up questions from student participants and in-depth interviews from their course instructors. In order to examine how different mediums of instructions influence participants perception about ESL writing courses they were asked to share their background explicitly. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to categorize and analyze the data for valid outcomes of this study. Pakistani student’s different educational background affects their proficiency in English language which led them to have different perceptions about ESL courses. The results of this study show that a majority of students consider graduate level ESL courses helpful for the improvement of their academic writing skills. However, they expressed some reservations in their belief that these courses would be useful in their own field of study. Pakistani graduate students have a specific cultural and linguistic background and bring with them specific techniques for writing. Hence it is suggested, ESL instructors should spend some time to understand international students to evolve their teaching strategies accordingly.

Graduation Semester

2012-08

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/34554

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2012 Iftikhar Haider

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