‘I don't seem to have done very much work on English Grammer (sic) at all’. A study of the written English skills of first year undergraduate students: their perceptions of the reality

abstract

This research project was primarily concerned with undergraduate students’ views of their abilities in written English compared to their actual abilities. We were interested to discover if students had an accurate picture of their levels of skill. We wanted to discover this because if students believe themselves to be proficient in their use of English, but in fact are not, they will not see it as necessary to seek support where it is offered. We believe that prior to any real use being made of any type of support class or group, the individual students must firstly have an accurate knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses. This article examines the existence of this knowledge.