“I thought I knew how to write in my own language …” unveiling vulnerability in NES university students’ English academic writing experience

While English academic writing has garnered growing attention in higher education (HE), scholarship has largely centred on English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) students' experiences, leaving those of native English-speaking (NES) students under-explored. To address this, this study explores NES university students' academic writing experience through a vulnerability lens, challenging the assumption that language fluency alone ensures academic success. Drawing on interviews with NES students, teaching staff, and writing tutors in three UK universities, the findings reveal that students’ initial confidence in their linguistic abilities often collides with the complexities of academic conventions. Moreover, students recounted emotional stress, self-doubt, and limited institutional support, highlighting how NES learners can “slip through the cracks” when services are primarily framed for those EAL. Nevertheless, once students recognised and addressed these shortcomings, they could leverage various self-regulated strategies to develop stronger writing practices, during which vulnerability emerged as a potential catalyst for development. By foregrounding the challenges and adaptive responses of NES students, the study underscores the importance of reframing academic writing support to be inclusive of all learners, advocating for discipline-specific scaffolding, and a “vulnerability-aware” pedagogy that fosters both equity and growth in HE.