Academic Writing in the Yemeni EFL Context: History, Challenges and Future Research
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
ABSTRACT
With the efforts of institutions of higher education towards excellence and globalisation, there is a growing awareness of using English as a medium of instruction in higher education in Yemen. However, similar to other EFL countries, the results of previous EFL literacy studies in Yemen indicate that university students are facing many difficulties and problems in acquiring the EFL literacy skills necessary to cope with the rigorous academic demands expected at the university level. In addition, it has been reported that the lack of proficiency among students in higher education is related to the gap between the current state of the preparation process at the secondary school level and the expected level required at the tertiary level with regards to both curriculum and instruction. This paper provides an overview of the problems and challenges of English writing instruction in the Yemeni EFL context and presents guidelines for the overall improvement of the secondary curriculum and the preparation for higher education learning.
KEYWORDS
EFL, Academic Writing, Higher Education, Secondary Education