HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES HUỲNH ÁI VIETNAMESE EFL TERTIARY STUDENTS' SELF-ASSESSMENT IN WRITING SKILL DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING HUE, 2024 HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES HUỲNH ÁI VIETNAMESE EFL TERTIARY STUDENTS' SELF-ASSESSMENT IN WRITING SKILL DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Major: TESOL Code: 9140111 SUPERVISORS: Dr. TRẦN QUANG NGỌC THUÝ Dr. ĐẶNG TẤN TÍN HUE, 2024 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that the dissertation submitted entitled “Vietnamese EFL Tertiary Students' Self-Assessment in Writing Skill” for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Theory and Methodology in English language teaching is the result of my own research. Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.
No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the thesis. This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. Hue, 2024 Huynh Ai i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This doctoral thesis represents the culmination of my personal endeavours combined with the dedicated collaboration of numerous individuals, marking a significant and prolonged undertaking. I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to these individuals without whom the realization of this work would not have been possible.
Foremost, I extend my deepest appreciation to my esteemed academic supervisors, Dr. Trần Quang Ngọc Thuý and Dr. Đặng Tấn Tín, whose indispensable guidance, astute feedback, unwavering support, and constant encouragement were instrumental in shaping this thesis amidst challenging circumstances. I consider myself exceedingly fortunate and contented to have been under the tutelage of these two committed mentors, who provided multifaceted perspectives throughout the completion of this research.
Furthermore, I would like to convey my profound gratitude to my former supervisor, Dr. Hồ Sĩ Thắng Kiệt, with the hope that even in the ethereal realm, he may be aware of my sentiments expressed here. My sincere appreciation also goes to all the lecturers, professors, and stakeholders at the University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University. I am indebted to the instructors who generously imparted invaluable knowledge, offering constructive comments and critical insights that significantly contributed to the completion of my thesis.
I extend my gratitude to my dear students, whose voluntary participation in completing questionnaires, responding to interviews, writing essays, and self- assessing, as well as maintaining reflective journals and attending a short course within the empirical project, has been vital. I am also thankful to my colleagues in the PhD group and friends who supported me with invaluable experiences and shared the workload throughout the entire process of completing this thesis. Lastly, but by no means least, I am profoundly grateful to my family members – my biological parents, my parents-in-law, my wife, and my wonderful children – for their unwavering love and constant encouragement. Their boundless affection has been a continual source of inspiration and motivation throughout my academic journey.
ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND CONVENTIONS CEFR: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages EFL: English as a Foreign Language ESL: English as Second Language Int: Interview MOET: Ministry of Education and Training M: Mean N: Number RQ: Research Question SD: Standard Deviation SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences S: Student Ss: Students Underlines are the changes after the participants used the self-assessment checklists. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP. ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND CONVENTIONS. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
iv LIST OF TABLES. viii LIST OF FIGURES. x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION. Aims and research questions.
Significance of the research. Organization of the study. 7 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW. Cognitive and constructivist theories.
Self-assessment in autonomous and self-regulated learning. Definitions of self-assessment. Autonomous language learning. Self-regulated learning.
Assessment in foreign language education. Self-assessment as a key strategy of formative assessment. Relationship among self-, peer, and teacher assessment. Self-assessment for summative purposes.
Writing academic English and self-assessment in EFL writing. Writing academic English. Self-assessment in EFL writing classrooms. Self-assessment in writing skill.
Benefits of self-assessment in EFL writing. Self-assessment instruments in EFL writing classes. Self-assessment checklists in learning writing. Writing reflective journals.
Previous studies and research gaps. Students’ perceptions of self-assessment. Students’ practices of self-assessment. Students’ challenges of self-assessment.
41 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. Research approach and research design. Role of the researcher. Analytical framework of the study.
Data collection instruments. Self-assessment checklist and students’ writing papers. Data collection procedures. Analysis of the quantitative data.
Analysis of the qualitative data. Research reliability and validity. 68 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. EFL students’ perceptions of self-assessment in writing skill.
Overview of students’ perceptions of self-assessment in writing skill. Students’ perceptions of general self-assessment in writing skill. Students’ perceptions of self-efficacy in their writing skill. Students’ perceptions of benefits of self-assessment in learning writing.
Discussion of the findings. Students’ perceptions of overall self-assessment in writing skill. Students’ perceptions of self-efficacy in their writing skill. Students’ perceptions of the benefits of self-assessment.
Summary the findings for RQ1. Students’ practices of self-assessment in writing skill. General quantitative results of students’ practices of self-assessment. Students’ reported self-assessment practices in writing.
Students’ reported practices of self-assessment in the writing process. Students’ actual use self-assessment checklist in learning writing. Students’ reflective journals. Students’ self-assessment of the overall essay contents.
Students’ self-assessment of the essay organization. Students’ self-assessment of the language writing skill. Discussion of students’ practices. Students’ reported practices.
Students’ actual use self-assessment checklist in learning writing. Summary of the findings for RQ2. Students’ challenges of self-assessment in writing skill. Students’ reported challenges of self-assessment in writing skill.
Students' challenges of self-assessment in writing skill. Discussion of students’ challenges. Summary of the findings for RQ3. Triangulation of findings.
128 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS. Summary of key findings. Students’ perceptions of self-assessment in writing. Students’ practices of self-assessment in learning writing.
Students’ challenges of self-assessment in writing. Implications for EFL students. Implications for teachers of writing. Implications for curriculum developers and policymakers.
Recommendations for further research. 139 LIST OF AUTHOR’S WORKS. 141 Appendix A: The pilot questionnaire .P1 vii Appendix B: The official questionnaire .P5 Appendix C: The pilot interview .P12 Appendix D: The official focus-group interview .P13 Appendix E: The official questionnaire of students’ using self-assessment checklist in a writing course .P15 Appendix F: Self-assessment checklist .P17 Appendix G: Prompts for students’ reflective journal .P20 Appendix H: A sample of the interview coding and theming .P21 Appendix I: A sample of an online writing class .P28 Appendix J: A sample of a student using self-assessment checklist to assess a first essay draft and revise into a second draft .P29 Appendix K: A sample of a student’s reflective journal .P33 Appendix L: A summary criteria of students' self-assessment of the essay.P35 Appendix M: Content of training program in a public university .P39 Appendix N: Content of training program in a non-public university .P38 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 3. The sample sizes of the present study.
Summary of data collection instruments .3: Summary of Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficients. Students' perceptions of general self-assessment in writing skill. Students' perceptions of self-efficacy in their writing skill. Students’ perceptions of benefits of self-assessment in writing.
Students’ reported self-assessment practices in learning writing. Students’ reported practices of self-assessment in the writing process. Participants’ reflection on the role of self-assessment checklists. Examples of students’ self-assessment of the introductory paragraph.
Example of students’ self-assessment of the conclusion paragraph. Students' reported challenges of self-assessment in writing skill .121 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2. Cyclical phases of self-regulated learning. Mixed methods design.
Mixed methods sequential exploratory design for the present study. The analytical framework of the study. General results of students’ perception of self-assessment. Students' perception of self-efficacy in their specific writing skill.
General questionnaire results of students’ practices of self-assessment. 92 x ABSTRACT In recent decades, extensive research has explored into self-assessment in learner- centered education globally, such as examining its consistency with other assessment forms, students' perceptions, and its association with self-regulated learning models. However, numerous unexplored dimensions persist, particularly the self-assessment of Vietnamese EFL tertiary students in learning writing as a skill, which has long been ignored in teaching practices. This study aims to investigate the perceptions, practices, and challenges of self-assessment in writing skill among Vietnamese students within this specific context.
To answer three research questions, a mixed-methods approach that incorporated quantitative and qualitative approaches for collecting and analyzing data. The first set of data on students’ reported perceptions, practices, and challenges of self-assessment in learning writing was gathered via a questionnaire delivered to 450 participants and focus-group interviews with 32 participants from the group of questionnaire respondents. Also, an empirical writing class with 18 students gathered data through a questionnaire, reflective journals, self-assessment checklists, and students' writing papers. The findings highlight Vietnamese tertiary students' positive perceptions of self- assessment in learning writing, emphasizing its role in improving writing skill, enhancing self-efficacy, and providing various benefits.
In terms of practice, students demonstrated a strong sense of responsibility and active participation in self-assessment activities. Notably, EFL students made a robust effort to employ self-assessment checklists to self-assess their writing, reflect on their strengths and weaknesses, and take ownership of their progress. However, challenges arise from students' limited experience in self-assessment and relatively low proficiency in English writing. Consequently, some students struggled with identifying grammar errors, including issues with word choice, articles, pronoun usage, verb agreement, and mechanics.
This study provides substantial contributions across theoretical, methodological, and practical dimensions. The theoretical framework establishes the groundwork for understanding Vietnamese tertiary EFL students' self-assessment of writing skill, bridging a crucial knowledge gap in Vietnamese higher education. The practical implications offer valuable insights for EFL educators in Vietnam and in the world, highlighting the positive impact of self-assessment on writing skill improvement and providing guidance on integration into instruction through tools like checklists and reflective thinking. The identification of challenges faced by students during self- assessment informs strategies for educators to offer targeted support and create an optimal learning environment.
xi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION This chapter provides an overview of the current research, presenting details of the research background, rationale, aim, and research questions. It also defines the research scope and then shows the research significance. Finally, the chapter gives precise details of the research organization. Research background In the past few decades, Vietnam's educational system, especially in foreign language education, has undergone significant transformations.
English has emerged as the dominant foreign language in the country due to socio-economic development and educational policies. It has become essential for international communication, trade, and attracting foreign investments. English proficiency is now highly sought after for employment, research, and various purposes, such as travelling and studying abroad. Along with the national renovation policy, English as a foreign language (EFL) has been officially taught as a compulsory subject in the educational system since after the Sixth National Congress of the Vietnamese Communist Party in December 1986.
Recently, Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has introduced significant policy changes to prioritize learner-centered learning and foster self-study skills in higher education. For instance, there have been a number of standard policies pertaining to tertiary education, including the implementation of a credit-based training system and a shift towards a combination of summative and formative assessments (MOET Decision No. 25/2006/QĐ-BGD&ĐT, 26th June 2006; MOET Decision No. 43/2007/QĐ-BGD&ĐT, 15th August 2007).