UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF TRANSFER OF ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS ACROSS TIME

Abstract

This study investigates university students' perceptions towards an English for advanced academic writing purposes (AAW) course taught in a private university in the United Arab Emirates. It probes into the relevance of the skills taught to the students' academic disciplines. Data was gathered through a short survey administered to students who successfully completed the course. The transferability of skills was measured in light of some of the learning objectives of the AAW stated in its syllabus. Findings indicated positive students' attitudes towards the AAW course. They also revealed that some learning outcomes did transfer to students' writing tasks in their major courses. However, transfer of these skills was more noticeable in some university disciplines (e.g. English) more than others (e.g. Business Administration). Detailed explanations of reasons and contexts for skill transfer are presented. This research concludes with some pedagogical recommendations and suggestions for course improvement and further research.

Keywords

• Learning transfer
• academic writing
• students’ perceptions
• latent learning