INVESTIGATING LINGUISTIC CHALLENGES IN IELTS WRITING PERFORMANCE OF HYDERABAD TEST-TAKERS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY
Keywords:
ESL Writing, Grammatical Accuracy, IELTS Writing, Lexical Resource, Thematic AnalysisAbstract
The research paper explored the language difficulties that IELTS Writing test-takers are facing in Hyderabad, Pakistan, and focused on lexical resource and grammatical range and accuracy as part of the two elements of the IELTS Writing scoring rubric. The study is based on a qualitative phenomenology focus and examines genuine Writing Task 1 and Task 2 sample from 25 IELTS aspirants between the ages of 18-25 who were studying language institutes in Hyderabad. The research determines common trends of vocabulary constraints, use of inappropriate words, grammatical mistakes, and sentence-structure deficiencies through thematic analysis formulated by Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke (2006) that prevent students from attaining high band scores. The results show that both lexical and grammatical difficulties have a great influence on coherence, cohesion, and accomplishment of a task. The research mentions such aspects as specific instructional practices, such as vocabulary acquisition, grammar-oriented instruction, and an organized practice of writing. The findings have practical implications for IELTS teachers, curriculum developers, and language learning institutions that wish to enhance the writing proficiency of the learners.
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