Investigating the Second Language (L2) Writing Strategies of University Students with Different First Languages (L1)

The aim of this study is to investigate the writing strategies employed by university students from diverse first languge (L1) backgrounds when writing in English (L2), highlighting the potential influence of L1 on L2 writing performance. The study was conducted amongst ten participants with five different L1s, those being Arabic, French, Turkish, Russian and English. The participants were all Freshman university students at Arkın University of Creative Arts and Design (ARUCAD) in North Cyprus, taking the mandatory SOFL102 course for all students regardless of their level of English. The data was gathered through a questionnaire, think-aloud procedures and a semi-structured restrospective interviews. During the think-aloud procedures, participating students were first required to write an academic argumentative essay and then a short story. The findings showed that regardless of the L1 the participants had, they generally did not use writing strategies when writing in their L1. This could be due to their confidence in their native language level and the type of task, as well as their unfamiliarity with the writing strategies in L1. In L2 writing, however, students with different L1s, regardless of which language they spoke, generally preferred to use various writing strategies in pre, while-, and post-writing stages. They reported that they used mostly ‘planning’ and ‘brainstorming’, which are cognitive and metacognitive strategies. As regards the use of L1 knowledge and skills to facilitate the L2 writing process, using their L1 was generally not preferred as a writing strategy. The participants reported that the usage of their L1 while writing in L2 caused issues for them such as making them feel like they were losing their English knowledge or focusing too much on translations. This study focused on writing strategies and writing skills. Further research can be done focusing on other skills such as reading, listening and speaking. Also, a similar study can be conducted over a longer period of time than the duration of this current study. Keywords: first language (L1), second language (L2), writing strategies