Grammatical difficulties and professional writing skills in English job application letters - evidence from EFL students at the University of Kisangani

Sep 11, 2026

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Professional writing underpins academic and workplace integration, especially where English is learned as a foreign language. This study examines the grammatical and organizational challenges faced by Department of Letters and English Civilizations students at the University of Kisangani when composing English job application letters. Using a mixed quantitative and qualitative design, the analysis of 22 undergraduate learners’ writing tasks applies error analysis and interlanguage theory to identify frequent linguistic problems. Results show grammar errors outnumber organizational issues, with persistent weaknesses across proficiency levels and causes linked to French/local language influence, limited authentic genre exposure, and insufficient practice in genre-based activities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Professional correspondence and job application letters

Context of English learning in the DRC

Study focus and observed difficulties

Vol. 7 (Iss. 2) 2026, pp. 1284-1291 African Journal of Empirical Research [https://ajernet.net](https://ajernet.net) ISSN 2709-2607 Grammatical difficulties and professional writing skills in English job application letters: evidence from English as a foreign language (EFL) students at the University of Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) John Mbula Nyangonda 1* Dimanche Lingoso Lifengo2 Evariste Loke Lobanga3 Arthur Cimwanga Bandibanga Shambuyi4 *[johnmbula@glail.com](johnmbula@glail.com) 1Yahuma Higher Technical Institute Section: Letters and Human Sciences, 2,4University of Kisangani, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Department of Letters and English Civilizations, 3University of Kisangani Faculty of Natural Sciences and Biotechnology, 1,2,3,4 DRC [https://doi.org/10.51867/ajernet.7.2.110](https://doi.org/10.51867/ajernet.7.2.110) ABSTRACT Professional writing plays an important role in academic and professional integration, particularly in contexts where English is learned as a foreign language. This study explores the grammatical and organizational difficulties encountered by students of the Department of Letters and English Civilizations at the University of Kisangani when writing job application letters in English. Although these students have received several years of English instruction, many still experience difficulties producing formal written documents that respect professional conventions. This study combined quantitative and qualitative approaches. Twenty-two undergraduate students from BAC 1, BAC 2, and BAC 3 participated in a classroom writing task in which they were asked to write a job application letter based on a simulated employment announcement. The analysis drew on principles from error analysis and interlanguage theory to identify the most frequent linguistic difficulties in students’ written productions. The results show that grammatical errors were more frequent than organizational ones. The most common problems involved verb forms, subject–verb agreement, sentence construction, articles, and prepositions. Structural weaknesses were also observed, especially in paragraph organization, letter formatting, and the use of appropriate salutations. The analysis further indicates that these difficulties persist even among advanced students, suggesting that prolonged exposure to English instruction does not automatically lead to effective mastery of professional writing. The study attributes these challenges to the influence of French and local languages, limited exposure to authentic professional writing situations, and insufficient practice in genre-based writing activities. It therefore recommends strengthening professional writing instruction within university English programs through contextualized writing practice and greater emphasis on workplace communication skills. Keywords: Employability, EFL Students, Job Application Letters, Professional Writing, Syntactic Errors, University of Kisangani I. INTRODUCTION English currently occupies a central position in international communication, higher education, scientific research, diplomacy, and professional exchange [1] . In many parts of the world, particularly in developing countries, competence in English has become an important factor in academic achievement and access to employment opportunities [2] . In Sub-Saharan Africa, where globalization increasingly influences educational and professional systems, written proficiency in English is often considered a prerequisite for effective participation in competitive labor markets [3] . Among the different forms of written communication, professional correspondence remains one of the most important indicators of linguistic and professional competence. The job application letter, in particular, plays a decisive role during recruitment processes because it usually constitutes the first direct contact between an applicant and an employer [4] . A well-structure

FAQs

What is the main focus of the study?

The study focuses on grammatical and organizational difficulties students face when writing English job application letters.

How were the difficulties analyzed?

The study used a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach and applied error analysis and interlanguage theory to student writing.

What were the most frequent types of problems?

The most common problems involved verb forms, subject–verb agreement, sentence construction, articles, and prepositions, along with weaknesses in paragraph organization and letter formatting.

Sep 11, 2026

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