BANKING ACADEMY OF VIETNAM FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES GRADUATION THESIS English-major students' difficulties in studying Writing II subject: A case study at Banking Academy of Vietnam. Student: Pham Khanh Linh Student ID: 23A7510077 Class: K23ATCB Supervisor: Ms. Tran Thi Thu Thuy (MA) Hanoi, May, 2024 DECLARATIONS I declare that this thesis is solely the product of my efforts. It has not been used to obtain other degrees or for other purposes.
All sources used in this thesis are acknowledged properly, and all are fully cited below. Hanoi, May 2024 Signature Pham Khanh Linh i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I had a lot of support and assistance from others when writing this essay. I'd like to thank and express my gratitude to everyone who helped me during the essay writing process. First and foremost, I would like to sincerely thank Ms.
Tran Thi Thu Thuy (MA), my supervisor. While I was writing my essay, she provided me with guidance, helpful advice, and insightful feedback. Her assistance was valuable. Her advice and assistance served as my inspiration to keep going and finish my dissertation.
Secondly, I would like to thank the ninety individuals who took part in the survey for offering the most unbiased and useful information that helped fulfill the thesis's purpose. In addition, I want to express my deep gratitude to all of the Foreign Languages Faculty instructors who have guided and supported me throughout the past few academic years, giving me the privilege of being here to complete my thesis. Lastly, I want to express my gratitude to my family and friends. Their support and encouragement gave me more willpower to go over the challenges of writing this thesis.
ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATIONS. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .vi LIST OF TABLES. vii LIST OF FIGURES .ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.
Background of the study. The significance of the study. Scope and scale. 3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Writing and writing skills. The definitions of writing and academic writing. The importance of writing skill. The concept of paragraph writing.
The structure of paragraph. Techniques of writing a paragraph. Characteristics of paragraph writing. Difficulties in learning paragraph writing.
Solutions to difficulties in learning paragraph writing. Previous studies on paragraph writing. 15 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. Locale of the study.
Populations and sampling descriptions. Data collection procedures. Data processing method & data analysis. Validity and reliability.
23 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. Students' English writing proficiency. Student Perspectives on Writing II. Difficulties concerning background knowledge.
Difficulties concerning motivation. Difficulties concerning vocabulary and writing competence. Difficulties concerning grammar. Difficulties in idea organization and paragraph patterns.
Difficulties relating to time allowance and word limit. Difficulties concerning teaching style. Difficulties relating to learning material and information gathering. Difficulties concerning background knowledge.
Difficulties concerning motivation. Difficulties concerning vocabulary and word competence. Difficulties concerning grammar. Difficulties in idea organization and paragraph patterns.
Difficulties relating to time allowance and word limit. Difficulties concerning teaching style. Difficulties relating to learning material and information gathering. 42 iv CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
Summary of findings. Recommendations for students. Recommendations for teachers. Limitations of the study.
Suggestions for further study .57 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviations Meanings BAV Banking Academy of Vietnam EFL English as a Foreign Language ESL English as a Second Language FFL Faculty of Foreign Languages vi LIST OF TABLES Table 3. 17 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4. Self-assessment of writing skills. The subject's difficulty level.
25 viii ABSTRACT In the context of globalization, English is gradually becoming one of the world's most popular languages. As a result, English plays an extremely important role in daily life and work. To master English, it is necessary to learn four skills, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Among them, writing skills are considered by many learners to be the most difficult to master.
This thesis aims to investigate students' difficulties when learning Writing II, particularly when learning to write paragraphs. From there, some possible solutions based on students' perspectives will be proposed to improve these difficulties. This thesis uses a quantitative method with descriptive analysis from IBM SPSS 26 software. This method's instruments include questionnaires taken by English major senior students at Banking Academy of Vietnam.
Several prior studies have examined the challenges encountered by first-year, and second-year students, or those from EFL countries when it comes to writing paragraphs. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of research conducted on this subject in Vietnam, particularly within the Foreign Language Faculty of the Banking Academy. The findings indicate that students often face challenges related to background knowledge, motivation, language, grammar, idea organization, paragraph structure, time constraints, word limits, and information gathering when learning to write paragraphs. Furthermore, they encounter some issues with the teacher's teaching methods and feedback.
However, problems with background knowledge, motivation, grammar, and information-seeking are considered the most typical difficulties, since most students encounter them during the process of learning to write paragraphs. This research also points out some solutions to support both students and teachers in learning and teaching this subject at the same time. The results of this study will thus provide a comprehensive and multi-dimensional perspective of students on the difficulties of writing paragraphs. Keywords: paragraph writing, difficulties ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.
Background of the study Nowadays, developing writing abilities is considered one of the fundamental components of competency in the English language, alongside listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Moreover, this skill holds significant importance for numerous reasons and has the potential to enhance various facets of an individual. This is a particularly important ability for English major students. Acquiring proficiency in writing can greatly enhance the proficiency in the other three talents.
In addition, students' ideas can be substantially refined through the development of their writing, communication, and conveying abilities. According to Karyuatry (2018), writing is used as a bridge to share opinions that are claimed to an important role in life. In addition to speaking skills, writing serves as a valuable instrument for writers to effectively convey their beliefs and viewpoints on a specific subject matter with depth and comprehensiveness. The activation of pupils' imagination, critical thinking, and concentration is particularly pronounced throughout the writing process.
These abilities are crucial for students' future career paths. To effectively present one's strengths and abilities to potential employers on a resume, it is imperative to possess professional writing skills. Due to the numerous advantages it offers, this particular skill is progressively garnering attention among pupils. Nevertheless, this particular ability is widely acknowledged as challenging and requires significant time for practice.
Writing in English, a foreign language is a particular challenge for students. To Blanchard and Root (2003), acquiring the skill of writing in a different language might be challenging. Acknowledging the significance of writing skills, Banking Academy of Vietnam has arranged classes for English major students to impart writing skills. Upon finishing Writing I, students will be obligated to engage in Writing II and must successfully finish this course to establish a strong basis in paragraph composition before entering into the essay writing (EW) courses.
The objective of this module is to facilitate the development of students' proficiency in composing various academic paragraphs across diverse genres. Before composing and delving into each particular genre, students must acquire proficiency in the fundamental elements of a paragraph. 1 Furthermore, learners must sequentially arrange the paragraphs and effectively demonstrate the different types of paragraphs, including comparison-contrast, cause- effect, and opinion paragraphs. After successful completion of this course, it is expected that learners will acquire the ability to adequately compose a coherent paragraph, hence facilitating their gradual advancement towards writing an essay in the subsequent course.
However, the task of producing a paragraph is commonly perceived as less challenging compared to that of composing an essay. To efficiently develop an essay with multiple paragraphs, students must prioritize the organization and composition of individual paragraphs. For Oshima and Hogue (2006), writing an essay is similar to writing a paragraph, with the only difference being its length. Indeed, numerous students have challenges in this course advancing to more arduous courses.
According to Wirantaka (2016), although a paragraph only consists of one main idea, its development is sometimes difficult to achieve. In acknowledgment of this situation, the study has been undertaken to enhance comprehension of the difficulties students face in Writing II, consequently proposing a range of potential solutions to address these issues. Objectives The purpose of this study was to tackle one primary concern. The objective of this study is to ascertain the challenges encountered by English language majors at Banking Academy of Vietnam in their pursuit of Writing II.
Based on the aforementioned challenges, the research suggested some remedies to enhance these issues. Moreover, this study aims to enhance students' writing proficiency, particularly in the area of paragraph composition, to establish a strong groundwork for students as they go to essay writing courses. Subsequently, the research aims to provide instructors with a more multifaceted and all-encompassing perspective on these challenges, enabling them to implement more efficient strategies to assist students. The significance of the study This research was undertaken to comprehend and analyze the challenges faced by English major students in Writing II at Banking Academy of Vietnam.
While numerous studies have examined the challenges faced by EFL learners worldwide in writing 2 essays, there is a dearth of research specifically focusing on the difficulties encountered in writing paragraphs. Hence, this research endeavor will be among the initial investigations aimed at offering more extensive and meticulous insights into the obstacles encountered by students in the process of acquiring, formulating, and producing English academic paragraphs, with a specific focus on Banking Academy of Vietnam students. The outcomes and findings of the aforementioned research will provide valuable and instructive information for both lecturers and learners. Subsequently, teachers can identify students' challenges and issues to modify teaching methods and learning material more suitably.
In addition, students will assess their struggles and preferred learning methods to identify more efficient alternative learning strategies. Research question The goal of this study is to address a research question: - What difficulties do English-major students at BAV have in Writing II? 1. Scope and scale The subjects of this study are students majoring in English in Banking and Finance at Banking Academy in Vietnam who are currently studying or have finished Writing II. The student population size is approximately 150 persons.
This study's data was gathered using an online pre-survey with 15 randomly selected students to identify primary difficulties in Writing II, followed by an online main survey with 75 participants. Summary This chapter overviews the study's background, objectives, and research question. It also emphasizes the significance of the study and defines its scope and scale. 3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.
Writing and writing skills 2. The definitions of writing and academic writing Writing is a sophisticated cognitive activity that uses written symbols to convey ideas, information, and thoughts. Writing talents are subject to varying definitions among specialists. Writing is an intellectual task that involves identifying and expressing ideas, followed by organizing them into coherent paragraphs for the reader's understanding (Nunan, 2003).
Writing comprises an extensive array of forms and functions, encompassing academic writing (including essays, research papers, and dissertations), technical writing (including business correspondence and marketing materials), and creative writing (including novels, poems, and plays). Efficient writing necessitates the presence of lucidity, consistency, conciseness, and thoughtful regard for the intended readership and objective. Developing this skill requires consistent practice, constructive feedback, and careful correction. Therefore, those who are engaged in writing or acquiring English as a second language must undertake numerous procedures to effectively communicate the intended message of the text.