On EFL Learners' Awareness of Their Writing Abilities and Preferences

Abstract

This study explores EFL learners' self-awareness of their writing abilities and preferences in writing genres in foundation year writing course. It was conducted at the University of Business and Technology (UBT), in Saudi Arabia. A sample of 73 female intermediate level learners participated in the study, the aim of which was to highlight learners' self-awareness of their writing abilities and preferences in writing. The study used a survey as a data instrument. The writing preferences survey acted as a vote for the preferred writing genre, and a visual representation of the learners' self-awareness of their writing strength and weakness points. The results showed that the majority of the learners preferred the narrative and opinion genres of writing. The results also showed the significance of highlighting the learners' self-awareness in their writing abilities to make them become self-regulated learners.