An Exploratory Analysis of Student Perceptions on Class Activities in an English Writing Course

An Exploratory Analysis of Student Perceptions on Class Activities in an English Writing Course

This study aimed to explore the perceptions of students regarding the class activities in a writing course. The sample consisted of 30 participants, and all participants were enrolled in a university course called “English Writing.” Data collection involved administering a survey that comprised closed and open-ended questions to the participants. The survey utilized a 5-point Likert scale and was divided into six categories. The open-ended questions aimed to gather information about the difficulties encountered while writing, the most common errors made, the most helpful activities, the most challenging and intriguing genres of writing, and the participants’ preferred methods of conducting writing activities. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze the closed questions, while content analysis was used for the open-ended questions. The findings revealed that the majority of students did not consider themselves proficient writers of English. However, overall, the students expressed satisfaction with the activities conducted during the course and exhibited a positive perception of improvement. Opinion writing was identified as the most interesting and challenging genre. Regarding the preferred mode of writing, individual writing was favored, while pair writing received the least preference. The participants faced challenges in presenting appropriate examples and supporting ideas to reinforce their topic sentences. In terms of grammar, while they demonstrated understanding of definite and indefinite articles, they expressed less confidence in their usage. Regarding feedback, the students expressed high levels of satisfaction with the feedback provided by the teacher, but their opinions on peer feedback varied. The study concludes by presenting pedagogical implications based on the findings. (254 words)