Higher Education Context Essay

The aim of this introductory chapter is to establish the theoretical and the contextual background for the study. In the first part of this chapter, the significance of writing in higher education contexts is highlighted. The second part describes features of the Omani educational context with a particular focus on the importance of writing in the context of the foundation programme. This will be followed by the rationale for the study and its objectives, the research questions, and finally the thesis structure.

1.2 Writing in the higher education context

(get ideas from Rahma’s book)

Student writing in higher education is at the heart of teaching and learning and it serves a variety of purposes in different contexts (Coffin et al. 2003: 2).

In fact, this should not be viewed in isolation of the global context of the role of English language in the world. As a consequence of the past colonial history and the continuing globalisation movement, English has become a dominant lingua franca in the world. English is seen today in the world as the language of science, technology, banking industry, international diplomacy, international communication, international business, and the internet. According to Kachru’s (1992) model for the spread of the English language in the world, it comprises three concentric circles: the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle. Crystal (1997) provides some widely cited estimations for the number of people who speak or use English in these three circles. According to Crystal, in the Inner Circle English is spoken as the native language of 320-380 million people in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In the Outer Circle, English has an official role in the country, and is considered a second language for approximately 150-300 million as it is, for example, the case in India, Nigeria, and Zambia. The Expanding Circle constitutes of countries where English is used as a foreign language by about 100-1000 million people. (update this)??? (Graddol 2000: 375 million L1 speakers, 375 million L2 speakers, 750 million FL

This study investigates written corrective feedback in an Omani context specifically focusing on the beliefs of the teachers, their real practices and their students ' preferences at Sohar University GFP. To achieve this, it is essential to examine both the theoretical and the empirical literature. The theoretical background sheds light on the approaches of the teaching of writing focusing on the product, the process and the genre approaches. Each approach will be discussed in terms of its characteristics, advantages and limitations. Then, a synthesis about the three approaches will be given. In the second part of the review of the literature the emphasis will shift to the notion of feedback in L2 writing through the discussion of the types of feedback, previous research on feedback and how it is perceived in SLA.

2.1 Approaches to the teaching of writing

Below a range of approaches in the teaching of L2 writing will be