Korean Students’ Perspectives on and Use of Strategies in English Critical Writing

The purpose of this study was to examine the perspectives and strategies used in critical writing in English by Korean students who were studying in a university in the U.S. Four Korean students from different majors participated in the study. Data were collected through class observation, and individual interview of the students and the class teacher. Through careful analysis of the data, the study showed that contrary to the researcher’s expectation, the students viewed their lack of appropriate language proficiency in English rather than paucity of knowledge on the writing topics or how to write critically in English as the major contributing factors in difficulties involved in English writing. Along with this, the students’ poor motivation towards writing and poor awareness of difference between American and Korean writing styles were identified as other factors influencing the quality of their written product. The study also revealed that the students employed a wide range of strategies, such as visiting a writing center, relying on their previous writing experience in Korea, or looking for a model to follow (Internet and library search, or samples provided by the teacher). Drawing on the findings, the study underscored the need for composition instructions that clarify the concept of critical writing in the second language (L2) and also address the different rhetorical writing styles between first language (L1) and L2.