MINISTRY OF JUSTICE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY NGUYEN PHAM HAILY 453222 AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON LEGAL ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AT HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY TOWARDS COLLABORATIVE LEARNING FOR THE MID-TERM ASSIGNMENT OF GROUP WORK PRESENTATIONS. GRADUATION THESIS Hanoi — 2024 MINISTRY OF JUSTICE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY NGUYEN PHAM HAILY 453222 AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON LEGAL ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AT HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY TOWARDS COLLABORATIVE LEARNING FOR THE MID-TERM ASSIGNMENT OF GROUP WORK PRESENTATIONS. NGHIÊN CỨU THỰC TIEN VE NHAN THỨC CUA SINH VIÊN CHUYEN NGÀNH TIENG ANH PHAP LÝ VE VIỆC HỌC CONG TÁC CHO BÀI TAP NHÓM THUYÉT TRÌNH GIỮA KÌ TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC LUẬT HÀ NỘI. Major: Legal English GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor Vu Van Tuan, Ph.
Hanoi — 2024 1 STUDENT DECLARATION Thereby state that I:Nguyen Pham Hai Ly — ID 453222, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library. In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper. Hanoi, May 13% 2024 Supervisor's confirmation Researcher's signature VuVan Tuan, PhD. Nguyen Pham Hai Ly iit ACKNOWLEDGMENT Undertaking this graduation thesis is a valuable opinion and the proudest milestone in my educational journey.AsI embarked on the scientific research area, I initially was inexperienced and unfamiliar with it, but this thesis was eventually well-finished, going beyond my expectations thanks to the assistance, encouragement, enthusiasm of my teachers, family, and friends.
Without their support, I would not have been able to complete this study, so I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to them First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. VuV an Tuan I am truly grateful and consider myself extremely fortunate to have received his guidance throughout the entire thesis process. His enthusiasm, patience, and encouragement have been so meaningful and important for me to perform well during the process. His proficient knowledge and expert guidance have undoubtedly contributed to the successful completion of this thesis.
I would also like to thank the members of the thesis defence committee for spending their valuable time and immense professional knowledge. Their constructive comments and suggestions have greatly contributed to the enhancement of this thesis. In parallel, I have taken their favourable remarks into consideration and integrated them into the bookbinding of this thesis. I would also love to sincerely thank the students K46 and K47 for their enthusiastic and committed participation in the research I profoundly appreciate their investment of time and their efforts in seeking assistance from others to help me complete the survey during the tough process, as well as their wishes for the success of my thesis.
Last but not least, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my firm rear, my beloved family and friends, who are always behind me, supporting, encouraging, and giving advice whenever! need andno matter which path! choose to adventure in. iv ABSTRACT Collaboration has traditionally occurred in various aspects of human life, as it aids people in achieving desired goals with added resources, making work more productive and requiring less effort. Particularly, in the educational field, collaborative learning is currently applied within diverse contexts and class activities where it offers different advantages while also posing certain challenges. Thus, the study aims to investigate legal English major students’ perceptions of collaborative learning in group work presentations in terms of its benefits, challenges, impact, and applied solutions.
The study was conducted on 96 legal English major students who were in K46 and K47 at Hanoi Law University, employing a mixed method. The findings implied that collaborative learning offers plentiful benefits, with participants pointing out key advantages, such as improved teamwork, communicative and interactive skills, shared knowledge and enriched understanding, honed critical thinking and problem-solving, exposure to peer perspectives, and improved adaptability to future workplaces. Regarding the challenges arising from the collaborative process, participants recognize several significant issues, namely the unequal participation and contribution among team members, accountability and responsibility concerns, communication difficulties, different personality traits, and learning habits. Given these drawbacks, the result primarily highlights pressure issues among the other negative impacts.
Furthermore, some solutions that students may apply to resolve the challenges are also discussed in this research Through the result, some limitations are identified, and implications are suggested for reference. The study would benefit school administrators, legal English lecturers and students, and those who are interested in collaborative learning in higher education. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Declaration by author Acknowledgments Abstract Table of contents List of tables List of abbreviations <Roa cy PART I. INTRODUCTION mbP0hAO©à@H 1.
Rationale for study 2. Aims and objectives of the study 2. Aims of the study 2. Objectives of the study 3.
Scope of the study 5. Significance of the study 6. Structure of the study PART I. Understanding of collaborative leaning 112.
Collaborative learning benefits 1. Collaborative learning practices Bwe 1. The relationship between collaborative learning and group work 1. Types of group work 1.
The relationship between collaborative leamng and group work 1. Potential challenges of conducting collaborative learning in group 16 work 1. Research questions restated 2. Procedures of data collection 2.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3. Demographic information of the respondents 3. Participants’ perceptions towards collaborative learning in group work presentations 3. The analysis of the benefits of collaborative learning in group work presentations for enhancing students‘ learning experience.
The analysis of the benefits of collaborative learning in group 31 work presentations for preparing learners’ fide professional envirorments 323 The analysis of the challenges while participating in 34 collaborative learning in group work presentations 324 The analysis of the impacts of the challenges on students* 39 overall learning experience 3. Potential solutions and strategies for challenges during 43 collaborative learning in group work presentations 3. Summary PART III. Summary of the main findings 45 41.
Legal English major students’ perceptions towards the 45 benefits of collaborative learning in grow work presentations 412 Legal English major students’ perceptions towards the 47 challenges of collaborative learning in group work presentations vi 413 Legal English major students’ perceptions towards the impacts of the challenges on their overall learning experience 414 Legal English major students’ perceptions towards the 48 potential soltfions/strafegies for the challenges during collaborative learning in group work presentations 4.1 Implications for students 422 Implications for instructors 4. Limitations and suggestions for further research. Suggestions REFERENCES APPENDIX Appendix A QUESTIONNAIRE Appendix B. THE SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW FOCUSING ON COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN GROUP WORK PRESENTATIONS, LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1.
Demographic information of the respondents 24 Table 2. Participants’ perceptions towards collaborative learning in 25 group work presentations Table 2. The benefits of collaborative learning in group work 30 presentations for enhancing learning experience Table 2. The benefits of collaborative leaning in group work 34 presentations for preparing learners’ future professional environments Table 2.
The challenges while participating in collaborative 38 learning in group work presentations Table 2. The impacts of the challenges on students’ overall learning experience Table 3. Comparison of Gender with Perceptions towards collaborative learning in Group work Presentations Table 4. Comparison of Courses with Perceptions towards collaborative learning in Group work Presentations Table 5.
Potential solutions and strategies LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS : Collaborative Learning : Group work : Zone Proximal Development : English for Specific Purposes : Hanoi Law University PART I.INTRODUCTION This part provides the context of the research by explatring the rationale, aims of the study, research questions, significance, and scope of the study, along with the structure of the paper. Rationale for study With the aim of promoting education, many schools and universities have prioritized enhancing teaching quality through the implementation of effective strategies for reforming their curricula during the education and training processes. Among the various pedagogical approaches, collaborative learning has gained significant popularity as an effective method to enhance students studying capabilities and foster teamwork awareness. In recent times, collaborative leaming strategies have been widely adopted by teachers and university lecturers in academic environments across the globe (Zheng et al.
Engaging in collaborative work provides students with valuable opportunities to develop their communication skills, work harmoniously with their team members, and take responsibility for their partial role in one group. Collaborative learning serves as a bridge and fosters a connected sense of community where individuals will learn to support each other and consider their peers’ learning process (Ibrahim et al. Moreover, cooperative learning, a specific form of collaborative learning that involves face-to-face interaction in a smaller group without consideration of a specific teaching method and learning, can create a relaxed atmosphere, reduce students’ anxiety, and empower their self-confidence (Han, 2015). Furthermore, it is evident that collaborative learning plays a pivotal role in sharpening English major students’ cooperative skills and qualifications in their chosen field of study not only for their activities within schoolhmiversity settings but also for their future professional workplace.
Specifically, cooperative learning can strengthen student proficiency in communication and English listening skills (Han, 2015). Similarly, as stated by Namaziandost et al. (2019), employing a cooperative approach, leamers’ speaking skills, and internal learning motivation are enhancedremarkably. According to Normavwati et al.
(2023), collaborative learning has been positively perceived by 1 students as it can strengthen their comprehension, motivation, cooperation, confidence, and communication skills, which leads to enhancing their overall study experience As an integral component of collaborative learning group work presentations are immensely conducted by students, this learning activity has become a dispensable dimension for assessing their qualifications. However, when examining students’ perceptions of group work presentations, it is imperative to approach this aspect by comprehending the strengths and weaknesses that arise during the performance of suchpresentations. In terms of benefits, oral presentations delivered by a group have a positive impact on the students’ speaking skills and language proficiency, while other forms of cooperative learning activities foster students’ motivation for learning (Chou, 2011). Additionally, thanks to the shared workload among peers, the collective ideas and resources, technological assistance, member feedback, and mutual support in addressing audience questions, students are able to overcome challenges associated with a lack of ideas and materials, individual limitations in technology, and consolidating their pronunciation, computer skills, presentation skills, and relevant knowledge (Nguyen, 2013).
As reported by Ghavifekr (2020), conducting group presentations also offers numerous benefits including enhanced assistance from team members, the opportunity for opinion sharing, and increased socialization among peers. Conversely, challenges potentially arise during the collaborative process, largely stemming from issues such as poor communication, lack of clarity regarding assigned workloads, and a lack of individual responsibility and engagement (Kawamura, 2019). Furthermore, the presentation performed by groups also addresses some obstacles related to presenters’ anxiety, as they may find it timid and stressful to express themselves orally in front of an audience (Hayasiibara, 2023). In the same way, their anxiety during presentations is further compounded when performing in a foreign language, which originates from either internal factors such as fear of failure and criticism, and negative experience, or external factors like presentation room condition, and physical factors (N guyen et al.
In the opinion of Razawi et al. (2019), student anxiety might be rooted in a variety of factors such as personality traits, preparation, audience interest and 2 language ability. Due to students’ diverse backgrounds which trace back to their different personality traits and learning styles, their confidence levels will strongly affect their performance while doing their presentations. Typically, this is commonly demonstrated by low self-esteem students who would experience heightened pressure during presentations.
In the same way, Marcus and Leong (2015) assert that inadequate preparation, language ability, and psychological factors are predominant contributors to students’ anxiety when delivering oral presentations.