University students' beliefs about English writing

This study investigates learners' beliefs about various aspects of composition in a foreign language context. The participants were two groups of university students majoring in English who differed in the amount and type of writing experience and instruction. Data came from a questionnaire completed by learners and an interview with the writing teacher. The results are indicative of some well-grounded beliefs about the learning potential of L2 writing, the strategic dimension of writing and the feedback process. Other beliefs related to the personal dimension of writing were found to be context-dependent. The pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.