Abstract:
Writing is a vital skill in language production and communication. The ability to
write meaningful sentences, lines and paragraphs which a reader can easily
understand can be termed as excellent writing skills. It is also one of the most
challenging areas in learning a second language. Most of the students are good at
language, but many of them face the main issue of expressing their ideas
effectively and efficiently in their writing. The common problems are the
inadequate knowledge of grammar, inadequate stock of English vocabulary and
creativity. Hence, knowledge of grammar plays a very important role in writing. It
is the structural foundation of one’s ability to express himself or herself.
Furthermore, it is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of
sentences, phrases and words. On top, tense is an essential aspect in grammar
which plays a major role in writing. ESL learners face a number of difficulties in
their attempt to master English tenses appropriately. Therefore, this research was
conducted with an aim to find the writing difficulties of ESL undergraduates of
South Eastern University of Sri Lanka (SEUSL) based on simple present, present
continuous and present perfect tenses. This study also aimed to discover the
reasons and remedies for these difficulties. Sixty undergraduates from the third
year of the Faculty of Arts and Culture (FAC) of the SEUSL were randomly selected.
They were given an individual questionnaire and a task sheet. The questionnaire
consisted of thirteen multiple-choice questions and two open-ended questions.
Also, the task sheet was composed of 25 items related to writing difficulties
regarding selected tenses. Further, it comprised multiple-choice questions, fill in
the blank items, and a free writing activity. The findings of this study illustrate that
the undergraduates have more difficulties in writing while using the present perfect
tense rather than the simple present and present continuous tenses. Some of the
reasons for these difficulties were the first language (mother tongue) interference,
lack of practice in English grammar and lack of interest in learning the English
tenses. Error correction activities, using grammar builders, remedial teaching,
regular grammar practices, and the like are among the remedies found out to
overcome these difficulties.
