Developing Learners' Academic Writing Skills in Higher Education: A Study for Educational Reform

L2 writers are known to face problems in developing their writing skills at the university level. These problems are even more accentuated with L1 Arabic non-native speakers of English in required English composition courses. Some research has shown that with low motivation levels the process can further be a very difficult and unrewarding one for both the learner and the teacher. However, students need to develop their writing skills in order to cope with their university coursework in the medium of English. This necessitates the search for learning tasks that meet student needs in a wider educational context. This paper outlines some of the writing theories proposed by researchers that have contributed to current L2 teaching/learning classroom methodologies. Drawing upon the insights gained from these theories, one EFL freshman composition classroom learning experience in doing practical research with L1 Arabic non-native speakers of English is described. Results indicated that the experience was not only a very highly motivating basis for developing students' writing skills but also a valuable one for students in acquiring necessary academic research know-how. Implications are made for the teaching/learning of writing and programme development in light of the post-war educational reform in Lebanon.