Problems in teaching english academic writing among ESL lecturers at public and private universities in Malaysia
English academic writing is fundamental at tertiary level as it is the main medium of communication in the academe. Over the years, ESL lecturers have not only struggled to search for the most suitable teaching approach(es) to teach academic writing but have encountered several other problems in the...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Scientia Socialis
2024
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/116618/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/116618/1/116618.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848867050031677440 |
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| author | Azmar, Khairunnisa Razali, Abu Bakar |
| author_facet | Azmar, Khairunnisa Razali, Abu Bakar |
| author_sort | Azmar, Khairunnisa |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | English academic writing is fundamental at tertiary level as it is the main medium of communication in the academe. Over the years, ESL lecturers have not only struggled to search for the most suitable teaching approach(es) to teach academic writing but have encountered several other problems in their teaching, such as class size, students’ English proficiency levels, heavy workload, and others. Given these circumstances, a review of the literature has indicated there are scant studies that explore the problems faced by ESL lecturers where comparisons are made between public and private universities. Grounded in multiple case studies, four ESL lecturers from two public and two private Malaysian universities were purposively selected for the study. Data were collected from semi-structured in-depth interviews, lesson observations, and document analysis. A total of 12 interview transcripts were transcribed verbatim by the researchers, and data were analysed thematically using thematic analysis and cross-case analysis, where emerging themes were used to present the findings. Findings reveal that ESL lecturers at higher education institutions encountered problems, such as constraints in time, marking issues, students’ lack of interests and motivations, lecturers’ lack of interest in writing, lecturers’ lack of content and pedagogical content knowledge, and lack of institutional support. Hence, professional support should be given to ESL lecturers to overcome their teaching problems, and future research should explore the strategies employed by ESL lecturers to alleviate their teaching problems. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:30:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-116618 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:30:20Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Scientia Socialis |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1166182025-04-14T04:06:10Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/116618/ Problems in teaching english academic writing among ESL lecturers at public and private universities in Malaysia Azmar, Khairunnisa Razali, Abu Bakar English academic writing is fundamental at tertiary level as it is the main medium of communication in the academe. Over the years, ESL lecturers have not only struggled to search for the most suitable teaching approach(es) to teach academic writing but have encountered several other problems in their teaching, such as class size, students’ English proficiency levels, heavy workload, and others. Given these circumstances, a review of the literature has indicated there are scant studies that explore the problems faced by ESL lecturers where comparisons are made between public and private universities. Grounded in multiple case studies, four ESL lecturers from two public and two private Malaysian universities were purposively selected for the study. Data were collected from semi-structured in-depth interviews, lesson observations, and document analysis. A total of 12 interview transcripts were transcribed verbatim by the researchers, and data were analysed thematically using thematic analysis and cross-case analysis, where emerging themes were used to present the findings. Findings reveal that ESL lecturers at higher education institutions encountered problems, such as constraints in time, marking issues, students’ lack of interests and motivations, lecturers’ lack of interest in writing, lecturers’ lack of content and pedagogical content knowledge, and lack of institutional support. Hence, professional support should be given to ESL lecturers to overcome their teaching problems, and future research should explore the strategies employed by ESL lecturers to alleviate their teaching problems. Scientia Socialis 2024 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_nc_4 http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/116618/1/116618.pdf Azmar, Khairunnisa and Razali, Abu Bakar (2024) Problems in teaching english academic writing among ESL lecturers at public and private universities in Malaysia. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 82 (4). pp. 434-455. ISSN 2538-7111; eISSN: 1822-7864 https://www.scientiasocialis.lt/pec/node/1738 10.33225/pec/24.82.434 |
| spellingShingle | Azmar, Khairunnisa Razali, Abu Bakar Problems in teaching english academic writing among ESL lecturers at public and private universities in Malaysia |
| title | Problems in teaching english academic writing among ESL lecturers at public and private universities in Malaysia |
| title_full | Problems in teaching english academic writing among ESL lecturers at public and private universities in Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | Problems in teaching english academic writing among ESL lecturers at public and private universities in Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Problems in teaching english academic writing among ESL lecturers at public and private universities in Malaysia |
| title_short | Problems in teaching english academic writing among ESL lecturers at public and private universities in Malaysia |
| title_sort | problems in teaching english academic writing among esl lecturers at public and private universities in malaysia |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/116618/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/116618/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/116618/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/116618/1/116618.pdf |