Abstract:
The study focuses on analyzing the impact of socioeconomic backgrounds and second
language (L2) learning environment on the development of English writing skills of
undergraduates. Under socioeconomic background, parents’ educational background and
income are considered while the type of school attended and English education received in
school are considered under L2 learning environment. Writing skills tested here include only
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use of accuracy in grammar and style, vocabulary and ability to organize ideas in L2. The
study area is the third year undergraduate population of the Faculty of Management and
Finance, University of Ruhuna. In the study, 40 undergraduates studying in English and
Sinhala mediums, 20 from each medium were selected for information gathering land a
comparative study was carried out. In the research, both primary and secondary data as well as
qualitative and quantitative data was collected. Qualitative data was accumulated through
interviewing, participative observation, focused group discussions etc. methods while
quantitative data was collected via a questionnaire survey. The data analysis depicts that the
relationship between the education of the family members of the selected student population
and the writing skills of the students is considerably low (only 25%). Family members'
education levels influence little the development of English writing skills of the students even
though there is a positive relationship between these two variables. The type of school
attended is classified as ‘Urban’, ‘Semi-urban’, and ‘Rural’ according to the facilities
available within the school. According to the results of data analysis, when the nature of
school shifts form urban to rural schools, the students’ English writing skills gradually
decrease correspondingly. The study concludes that socioeconomic background has not
influenced the development of students’ English writing skills while the ‘type of school
attended’ seems to have a considerable impact on the development of English writing Skills.
The English writing skills of the students from urban and semi-urban schools are observed
better than that of the students from rural schools.
