REFORMING ESL WRITING INSTRUCTION IN TERTIARY EDUCA TION: THE WRITING CENTRE APPROACH

Abstract

Writing in English is a difficult literacy to acquire in both first and second language contexts. Students must write reasonably well in English to succeed in university education. Yet, their lack of writing competence has been a perennial pain, and is affecting their academic and career advancement. This problem has motivated the quest for a more effective pedagogy for academic writing instruction. An alternative may lie with the Writing Centre approach, an established practice in North American universities, but not in Malaysia. This paper draws from a larger study on the applicability of the approach as writing pedagogy, learner support and an immersive environment. Due to space constraints, only the first application is discussed in this paper.