“I thought I knew how to write in my own language …” unveiling vulnerability in NES university students’ English academic writing experience

Li, Mingyu and Wang, Fengqiang (2025) “I thought I knew how to write in my own language …” unveiling vulnerability in NES university students’ English academic writing experience. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 79. p. 101618. ISSN 14751585

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Abstract

While English academic writing has garnered growing attention in higher education (HE), scholarship has largely centred on English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) students' experiences, leaving those of native English-speaking (NES) students under-explored. To address this, this study explores NES university students' academic writing experience through a vulnerability lens, challenging the assumption that language fluency alone ensures academic success. Drawing on interviews with NES students, teaching staff, and writing tutors in three UK universities, the findings reveal that students’ initial confidence in their linguistic abilities often collides with the complexities of academic conventions. Moreover, students recounted emotional stress, self-doubt, and limited institutional support, highlighting how NES learners can “slip through the cracks” when services are primarily framed for those EAL. Nevertheless, once students recognised and addressed these shortcomings, they could leverage various self-regulated strategies to develop stronger writing practices, during which vulnerability emerged as a potential catalyst for development. By foregrounding the challenges and adaptive responses of NES students, the study underscores the importance of reframing academic writing support to be inclusive of all learners, advocating for discipline-specific scaffolding, and a “vulnerability-aware” pedagogy that fosters both equity and growth in HE.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	** Article version: AM ** Embargo end date: 05-12-2027 ** From Elsevier via Jisc Publications Router ** History: accepted 01-12-2025; epub 05-12-2025; issued 31-01-2026. ** Licence for AM version of this article starting on 05-12-2027: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
SWORD Depositor:	JISC Router
Depositing User:	JISC Router
Date Deposited:	08 Jan 2026 10:48
Last Modified:	08 Jan 2026 10:48
URI:	https://bnu.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/20761

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