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Raising language awareness to foster self-efficacy in pre-professional writers of English as a Foreign Language: a case study of Czech students of Electrical Engineering and Informatics

  • Kris Van de Poel ORCID logo EMAIL logo and Zaan Bester
Published/Copyright: May 13, 2025
Language Learning in Higher Education
From the journal Language Learning in Higher Education Volume 15 Issue 1

Abstract

This case study examined Czech electrical engineering and informatics students’ English academic writing, addressing challenges in producing understandable and coherent texts for international audiences. Using a mixed-methods approach, which included textual analysis of essays, student writing profiles, and pre/post-course questionnaires, we analysed students’ self-efficacy expressed in writing confidence, comfort, and competence. A language awareness intervention, focusing on comparative English-Czech writing conventions and domain-specific text analysis in a collaborative learning environment, aimed to enhance the students’ self-efficacy. Findings demonstrated an increase in students’ self-reported confidence and comfort. While grammatical accuracy is often present, structural and content-level challenges persist and are identified by the students. The intervention demonstrates the value of focused engagement with language use in a collaborative learning environment, informing pedagogical practices to improve academic writing instruction for STEM students and foster their professional development.

Keywords: language awareness raising; academic writing; self-efficacy; Czech STEM students; collaborative learning; ESP
Corresponding author: Kris Van de Poel, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium, E-mail:
Appendix 1

Language Awareness Raising Questionnaire

(the name of the primary language has been adapted for the Czech context)

Reply to the following questions:

  1. In one sentence, describe how you feel about writing in Czech.

  2. What do you find easiest about writing in Czech?

  3. What do you find most difficult about writing in Czech?

  4. In one sentence, describe how you feel about writing in English.

  5. What do you find easiest about writing in English?

  6. What do you find most difficult about writing in English?

Complete the following sentences by choosing one answer. All the questions relate to English.

Please select ONLY ONE response per question.

  1. I would describe my level of experience as a writer in the following way:

    very experienced – experienced – not very experienced – not at all experienced

  2. I would rate myself as a writer in the following way:

    very competent – competent – not very competent – not at all competent

  3. If I had to discuss a short paper I had written with a teacher right now, I would feel …

    very comfortable – comfortable – uncomfortable – very uncomfortable

  4. If I had to discuss one of my papers with a fellow student, I would feel …

    very comfortable – comfortable – uncomfortable – very uncomfortable

  5. If I had to edit and make suggestions about a text, I would feel …

    very comfortable – comfortable – uncomfortable – very uncomfortable

  6. I understand what makes a successful argumentative text.

    strongly agree – agree – disagree – strongly disagree

  7. I know how to write a successful argumentative text.

    strongly agree – agree – disagree – strongly disagree

Appendix 2

A model for evaluating text quality.

From: Van de Poel et al. (2012) based on Renkema’s CCC-model (2009).

The CCC model for text quality (criteria for analysis × text facets)

Criteria for analysis of text quality

Text facets

Correspondence

Consistency

Correctness

A. Text type

1. Appropriate text

2. Unity of genre

3. Application of genre rules

B. Content

4. Appropriate and sufficient information

5. Congruence of facts

6. Facts

C. Structure

7. Sufficient cohesion

8. Uniformity of structure

9. Linking words and argumentation

D. Wording

10. Appropriate wording

11. Unity of style

12. Syntax, vocabulary and meaning

E. Presentation

13. Appropriate layout and typography

14. Congruence between text and layout

15. Spelling, punctuation, layout and typography
     15 evaluation points

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Received: 2024-11-26
Accepted: 2025-04-16
Published Online: 2025-05-13
Published in Print: 2025-05-26

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Introduction
  3. Integration, collaboration, friendship as core messages for younger generations
  4. Research Articles
  5. Research practice and culture in European universities’ Language Centres. Results of a survey in CercleS member institutions
  6. Language practices in the work communities of Finnish Language Centres
  7. Fostering transparency: a critical introduction of generative AI in students’ assignments
  8. Expert versus novice academic writing: a Multi-Dimensional analysis of professional and learner texts in different disciplines
  9. Raising language awareness to foster self-efficacy in pre-professional writers of English as a Foreign Language: a case study of Czech students of Electrical Engineering and Informatics
  10. Does an autonomising scheme contribute to changing university students’ representations of language learning?
  11. Investigating the relationship between self-regulated learning and language proficiency among EFL students in Vietnam
  12. Students’ perspectives on Facebook and Instagram ELT opportunities: a comparative study
  13. Designing a scenario-based learning framework for a university-level Arabic language course
  14. Washback effects of the Portuguese CAPLE exams from Chinese university students and teachers’ perspectives: a mixed-methods study
  15. Students’ perception of the impact of (meta)linguistic knowledge on learning German
  16. Language policy in Higher Education of Georgia
  17. Activity Reports
  18. Intercomprehension and collaborative learning to interact in a plurilingual academic environment
  19. Teaching presentation skills through popular science: an opportunity for a collaborative and transversal approach to ESP teaching
  20. Japanese kana alphabet retention through handwritten reflection cards
  21. Decolonising the curriculum in Japanese language education in the UK and Europe
https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2024-0097
Keywords for this article
language awareness raising; academic writing; self-efficacy; Czech STEM students; collaborative learning; ESP

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Introduction
  3. Integration, collaboration, friendship as core messages for younger generations
  4. Research Articles
  5. Research practice and culture in European universities’ Language Centres. Results of a survey in CercleS member institutions
  6. Language practices in the work communities of Finnish Language Centres
  7. Fostering transparency: a critical introduction of generative AI in students’ assignments
  8. Expert versus novice academic writing: a Multi-Dimensional analysis of professional and learner texts in different disciplines
  9. Raising language awareness to foster self-efficacy in pre-professional writers of English as a Foreign Language: a case study of Czech students of Electrical Engineering and Informatics
  10. Does an autonomising scheme contribute to changing university students’ representations of language learning?
  11. Investigating the relationship between self-regulated learning and language proficiency among EFL students in Vietnam
  12. Students’ perspectives on Facebook and Instagram ELT opportunities: a comparative study
  13. Designing a scenario-based learning framework for a university-level Arabic language course
  14. Washback effects of the Portuguese CAPLE exams from Chinese university students and teachers’ perspectives: a mixed-methods study
  15. Students’ perception of the impact of (meta)linguistic knowledge on learning German
  16. Language policy in Higher Education of Georgia
  17. Activity Reports
  18. Intercomprehension and collaborative learning to interact in a plurilingual academic environment
  19. Teaching presentation skills through popular science: an opportunity for a collaborative and transversal approach to ESP teaching
  20. Japanese kana alphabet retention through handwritten reflection cards
  21. Decolonising the curriculum in Japanese language education in the UK and Europe
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