Redressing Writing Anxiety of Pakistani MLEs: A Pragmatic Guide

Writing is an indispensable dexterity transcending disciplines barriers and endorses a fundamental facade for academic and professional attainment. English Language Teaching (ELT) in Pakistan is bustling with an array of languages, cultures and learning experiences. For that reason, writing English among Multilingual Learners of English (MLEs) is a fraught enterprise escorted by anxiety. 

This blog is anticipated as to alleviate writing anxiety of Pakistani MLEs through empirical steps, equipping them with essential expressive techniques to be self-assured and communicative writers. Other regional, national, mother, and religious lingua franca dominance i.e., Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Saraiki and Arabic etc. is a foremost barricade in English written glibness and sentence configuration of Pakistani MLEs. Rote and grammar drill consequences in limited exposure to inspire and genuine expression is another influential contributor of anxiety among Pakistani MLEs. 

Socio-economic disparities, i.e., lopsided access to technology and quality instruction also foster writing anxiety among Pakistani MLEs. Cultural, gender and societal dynamics also lead to stifling creative and critical voices of MLEs in Pakistan. It is intended that by nurturing trans-language navigation among MLEs will augment their linguistic competence concerning writing English. Fostering creative writing prompts among MLEs in Pakistan, shifting from grammar drills and rote learning, will be an effective mode to assimilate writing skill. Peer-prop up, shared brainstorming, enabling free space for floating ideas, cocktailing digital support and making sure the accessibility of authentic assorted English materials, can decrease pressure and anxiety from Pakistani MLEs. And can amalgamate creative, critical, and expressive expertise among them. Cultivating conducive context through writing prompts practice, daily journaling, vocabulary wall, blog, short essay, story writing, creative undertaking and peer-support in ELT are some of the projected classroom practices or activities that can redress writing anxiety among MLEs in Pakistan. 

Additionally, spotlighting on practice and enrichment by discarding perfection, self assessment, peer cum instructors’ feedback, showcasing MLEs writing prompts and commemorating their writing enactment can alleviate their writing anxiety and advance their writing persona to new-fangled heights. Equipping MLEs with assorted resources harmonizing their written adeptness, endowing in providing English contents and reading material, multicultural collaboration, utilizing guideline for teaching English writing, drill and workbooks, digital libraries and tools, integrating a self-directed writing framework, hand on training and writing competition among MLEs are some of the recommended resources and tools that can minimize the writing anxiety among Pakistani MLEs. And can capitalize their written expression into creative, critical and impressive English writers. 

Likewise, assessment and feedback strategies necessitate reconsidering to lessen writing anxiety among MLEs in Pakistan. Perfection is an illusion that can demoralize writers, especially learners, so practical and attainable goals must be situated on the part of instructors to trim down anxiety from MLEs. A formative assessment stratagem must be espoused so that learners are entitled to acquire feedback and corrective measures as and when requisite during the writing process. Grading criteria must be lucid and flexible which ensures creativity and critical skills rather than replication, repetition, and imitation. 

Motivation and constructive feedback rather than ultimate undefined grade must be avoided as an assessment tool to activate writing and reduce writing anxiety among MLEs. Lastly, self assessment, self-correction and peer-review must be an integral module of assessment to nurture critical evaluation among MLEs. Spotlighting on individual specific concerns and catering pace with the updated trends can be handy in redressing writing anxiety and nurturing expressive expertise among MLEs in Pakistan. Reducing the gap amid mother, national and English language in ELT classrooms can be an influencing agent in this regard. Patronizing and corrective feedback towards errors can maximize enrichment and escalation among MLEs. 

Considering the socio-economic context and access to English resources, MLEs can significantly reduce writing anxiety. Embracing technology-assisted tools and AI resources encourages MLEs to navigate cultural and linguistic diversity, allowing them to showcase their unique perspectives globally. This approach fosters mental growth aligned with the evolving landscape of the English language and effectively alleviates their writing anxiety.