| This study investigates the first language (L1) and second language (L2) writing processes of a group of Arab ESL students by addressing the following questions: (a) What are the writing processes undergraduate Saudi ESL students apply when writing in L1? (b) What are the writing strategies they apply when writing in L2? (c) What are the similarities or differences between the writing processes they apply when writing in L1 and in L2? (d) What are the similarities or differences between the writing processes male and female participants apply when writing in L1 and in L2? The population of this study includes 161 male and 42 female Saudi undergraduate ESL students attending American universities.; The data used in this study was obtained using two methodologies: quantitative and qualitative. First, the quantitative data were collected via an online survey. Second, and based on the participants' scores on Rose's Writer's Block test, stimulated recall interviews (SRls) were conducted with six participants, three of whom were characterized as blocked in L1 but not in L2, and three of whom were characterized as blocked in L2 but not in L1. The SRIs required each participant to write about a descriptive topic in L1 and another in L2, independently.; The results of this study indicated several things: there were differences between L1 and L2 in the training received and in the pre-writing and post-writing processes applied; there were similarities in the while-writing processes in both languages; there were relationships between the L1 and L2 writing processes; there were no significant differences between the writing processes of males and females in L1 and L2. |
