Efl Learners' Misuse Of The Semicolon And Comma In Paragraph Writing. Case Of Efl Second Year Students At M’sila University

Résumé: : This research aims to investigate the misuse of comma and semicolon in paragraph writing. To explore this effect, this research was conducted at the University of M’sila. A descriptive method was applied for the current study in which a sample of 09 teachers and 66 students of second-year license students were selected from the English department. Quantitative tools were used during data gathering and analysis. Two questionnaires were addressed for both teachers and students with a test for students that includes two paragraphs to be appropriately punctuated. The results indicated that students face multiple difficulties in punctuation especially in the use of comma and semicolon. The findings reveal that students do not get sufficient instructions from their teachers about punctuation, as well as, students do not give importance to punctuation in comparison to other components of writing. Additionally, both teachers and students claim that the allocated time for written expression should be more than one hour and thirty minutes per week. Moreover, they believe that more practical courses about punctuation should assigned to enhance students’ mastery of punctuation

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